Qanons, anti-vaxxers, and alternative health influencers: a cultural semiotic perspective on the links between conspiracy theories, spirituality, and wellness during the Covid-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT

Scholars have highlighted the bond between conspiracy theories, new-age spirituality (conspirituality), and wellness. This paper contributes to this scholarship by critically analysing the underlying semiotic mechanisms that govern the overlap between QAnon, antivax, and Covid-19 related conspiracy theories, new age spirituality and wellness. From a Lotmanian perspective, I draw a critical semiotic analysis of the links between these three discursive realms during the Covid-19 pandemic, especially focusing on alternative health influencer Christiane Northrup’s Facebook page. To do this, I rely on Lotman’s concept of translation, as well as its development in the field of cultural semiotics. Combining Lotman’s theory of translation with Greimas’ discursive semiotics, I claim that the bond between conspiracy theories, spirituality, and wellness is based upon the translations of five semiotic cultural elements: (i) basic narratives plots; (ii) themes and thematic roles; (iii) figures; (iv) plastic features; and (v) collective passions. Drawing on this analysis, I also seek to detail how Lotman’s translation works, looking at which semiotic features are exactly translated when two or more semiosphere come into contact, as well as what logics this translation is based on.

KEYWORDS:

• Conspirituality
• cultural semiotics
• translation
• Lotman

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Acknowledgement

None.

Notes

1 The Conspirituality Podcast, hosted by Derek Bares, Matthew Remski, and Julian Walker analyses this relationship in depth, devoting ample space to Christiane Northrup’s discourse. The podcast is available on Spotify at the following link: https://open.spotify.com/show/2imIsM2NZRPpQvI56TLdM5?si=c839c30c2cd345d4

Additional information

Funding

None.

Notes on contributors

Paolo Demuru

Paolo Demuru is Associate Professor of Semiotics and Theory of Communication in the Post-Graduate Program in Communication Studies at Universidade Paulista (Sao Paulo, Brazil). He holds a Ph.D. in Semiotics from the University of Bologna and a Ph.D. in Semiotics and General Linguistics from the University of Sao Paulo. His research interests concern populism and political discourse, sociosemiotics, and semiotics of culture.