Pandemic Denialism: The Case of COVID-19

Abstract:This article develops a typology on COVID-19 denialism so we might better understand its sources and what can be done to counter them. The typology will analyze denialism as manifested in great power competition, driven by economics and business interests, motivated by political ideology and populist movements, caused by national security imperatives, and compromised by politicized science. The article also examines the use by China and Russia of social media such as Twitter to create "epistemological chaos" in the industrialized democracies about COVID-19 to further their strategic goals and undermine public confidence in science and technology. Finally, the article concludes with some thoughts on how the social media has replaced traditional news media as a source of information for the public generally, but specifically how it has distorted the public's information about the pandemic and vaccines developed to protect against COVID.