Entering the field of misinformation: Conflicting emotions and the limits of relativisation

Abstract

This article addresses the role of researchers’ and their interlocutors’ emotions in field research on misinformation, based on an investigation into the uses of Telegram in the circulation and appropriation of information about COVID-19. Starting from a reflection on the emotional in the construction of anthropological knowledge and the limits of relativization in engaging with groups considered “anti-science” from digital anthropology, the study discusses the place of conflicting emotions in the relationship between us and the subjects observed during the research. Finally, we propose the need for a conceptual shift: From denialism as an explanatory system for the denial of principles considered fundamental to knowledge and scientific evidence, to affirmationism, which highlights the affirmation of social groups, their values, beliefs, and worldviews.