On November 16, 2021, CERES and the Department of Slavic Languages Department had the pleasure to host a lecture-discussion with the Wilson Center’s Dr. Alexandra Arkhipova entitled Dangerous Memes and Lucifer’s Genes: Anti-Vaccine Narratives In Russia And Which Of Them Really Matter.
Key Words: Covid-19 Vaccination, Infodemic, Rumor, Anti-Vaccine
Dr. Arkhipova talked about the “new threat” of infodemic and modern age’s rumor spreading, and understanding them would help us understand how information about Covid-19 and anti-vaccine sentiments were built up and spread in Russia. She explained that the infodemic narratives are vernacular texts distributed through informal communication channels where the collective author and individual distributor assume that the information contained in these texts is genuine and news to be disseminated. She noted that in her study, she focused on the repetitiveness of rumors instead of distinguishing whether the information contained in the rumors was accurate because the accuracy of information could change over time. She asked the audience whether they believed that gossiping and spreading rumors were normal human actions or deviances, and then she went on to explain that these are very fundamental human behaviors. Homo sapiens need to constantly maintain contact with other members of their groups through verbal grooming. Gossiping is an evolutionary social bonding mechanism; gossip and rumors are ways to make connections to people and to control free riders. Main functions of human language are to spread important information and to bond socially. In case of social and natural disasters, humans are more prone to believe in illusions and spread information. The loss of internal control prompted people to seek outside control. In situations of social catastrophe like the Covid-19 pandemic, people’s desire to maintain contact with loved ones increases and the propensity for caring and verbal grooming increases as well.
“Rumors are global.”
Dr. Arkhipova’s research has included the study of 321 plots/narratives about Covid-19 and vaccination. She noted that these were the visible parts, and there were many hidden pieces not available for people to study. She talked about the four groups of topics that are most important: origin of Covid-19, anti-vaccination, folk medicine/pseudo-medical advice, and politics. She gave an example of “Yura Klimov,” who was, in the rumors, believed to be a Russian doctor who was sent to Wuhan and studied the variant in Wuhan and gave out advice to people on how to cure Covid. She emphasized that nowadays rumors are global and adaptive. The figure of “Yura Klimov” exists in different forms in different countries and cultural backgrounds.
“Who are spreading rumors? We all do!”
Dr. Arkhipova shared a graph of demographic statistics of rumor spreaders. The average age of people in Russia involved in spreading rumors is 40-60 years. She believes that people in this age group are care-givers of the family who take care of children, grandchildren, and parents, so they are more likely to believe in and spread rumors. She mentioned that education did not have an influence on people’s likelihood of spreading rumors as her study showed that 73% of the spreaders had higher education.
“The most dangerous thing is not about rumors but scientific delusions.”
Looking at the reasons behind Russians’ resistance to get vaccinated, Dr. Arkhipova concluded that there is no one single reason to be afraid of vaccines: conspiracy theorists, reinsures, and those who do not trust the manufacturers and authorities. Some false rumors have a little scientific base, and they create more danger, as the pseudoscientific pieces appear more credible. Someone in the audience pointed out that emotion-driven claims are rationalized by this pseudoscience.
A guest in the audience asked Dr. Arkhipova what advice she had for the state to control social rumors that potentially posed problems in society? She answered that the state should not take a punitive approach when dealing with rumors. It should explain and provide information to people. It would be helpful to better provide transparency, so that people become less suspicious about statements and suggestions made by the state.
About the speaker:
Dr. Arkhipova is a Senior Research Fellow and Head of the “Contemporary Folklore Monitoring” research group at the School of Advanced Studies in the Humanities, in the Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration. She also holds professorships at the Russian State University for the Humanities and the Russian School of Economics. She is a leading expert on political jokes, rumors, and legends, on the concept of money in traditional society, and on the anthropology of protest. Along with her research group she is currently engaged on a years-long study of “infodemia,” WHO’s term for the spate of false and potentially dangerous misinformation that flows through and infects the public discourse much like a viral pandemic. Her book Dangerous Soviet Things: Urban Legends and Fear in the USSR, written with Anna Kirzyuk, won the Liberal Mission Prize for the best analysis of current events.