This article presents new empirical insights into what people do with conspiracy theories during crises. By suppressing the impulse to distinguish between truth and falsehood, which has characterized most scholarship on the COVID-19 “infodemic,” and engaging with claims surrounding two popular COVID-19 conspiracies—on 5G and on Bill Gates—in South Africa and Nigeria, we illustrate how conspiracies morph as they interact with different socio-political contexts. Drawing on a mixed-method analysis of more than 6 million tweets, we examine how, in each country, conspiracies have uniquely intersected with longer-term discourses and political projects. In Nigeria, the two conspiracies were both seized as opportunities to extend criticism to the ruling party. In South Africa, they produced distinctive responses: while the 5G conspiracy had limited buy-in, the Gates conspiracy resonated with deep-rooted resentment toward the West, corporate interests, and what is seen as a paternalistic attitude of some external actors toward Africa. These findings stress the importance of taking conspiracy theories seriously, rather than dismissing them simply as negative externalities of digital ecosystems. Situating conspiracies in specific dynamics of trust and mistrust can make an important difference when designing responses that are not limited to broadcasting truthful information, but can also enable interventions that account for deeply rooted sentiments of suspicion toward specific issues and actors, which can vary significantly across communities.

本文介绍了人们在危机期间如何使用阴谋论的新经验见解。通过抑制区分真假的冲动，这是大多数关于 COVID-19“信息流行病”的学术特征，并参与围绕南非和尼日利亚的两个流行的 COVID-19 阴谋——5G 和比尔·盖茨——的主张，我们说明了阴谋在与不同的社会政治背景相互作用时如何演变。通过对超过 600 万条推文的混合方法分析，我们研究了每个国家的阴谋如何与长期话语和政治项目独特地交织在一起。在尼日利亚，这两个阴谋都被当作向执政党提出批评的机会。在南非，他们产生了独特的反应：虽然 5G 阴谋的支持有限，盖茨的阴谋引起了对西方、企业利益以及某些外部行为者对非洲的家长式态度的根深蒂固的怨恨。这些发现强调了认真对待阴谋论的重要性，而不是简单地将其视为数字生态系统的负面外部性。在设计不仅限于传播真实信息的反应时，将阴谋置于信任和不信任的特定动态中可能会产生重要影响，而且还可以启用干预措施，以解释对特定问题和参与者的根深蒂固的怀疑情绪，这些情绪在不同地区可能会有很大差异社区。以及一些外部行为者对非洲的家长式态度。这些发现强调了认真对待阴谋论的重要性，而不是简单地将其视为数字生态系统的负面外部性。将阴谋置于信任和不信任的特定动态中可以在设计不仅限于传播真实信息的反应时产生重要影响，而且还可以启用干预，以解释对特定问题和参与者的根深蒂固的怀疑情绪，这些情绪可能因不同而有显着差异社区。以及一些外部行为者对非洲的家长式态度。这些发现强调了认真对待阴谋论的重要性，而不是简单地将其视为数字生态系统的负面外部性。将阴谋置于信任和不信任的特定动态中可以在设计不仅限于传播真实信息的反应时产生重要影响，而且还可以启用干预，以解释对特定问题和参与者的根深蒂固的怀疑情绪，这些情绪可能因不同而有显着差异社区。