“The Bible is a flat-Earth book”: An Extended Pragma-Dialectical Analysis of Audience Adaptation in the Flat-Earth Conspiracy Theory

One of the conspiracy theories that has increased in popularity during the last couple of years is about the Earth being flat. YouTube and the internet have played an important role in the wide spreading of the idea. Based on the apparent mistrust by flat Earthers of certain authorities, two types of fallacies seem predominant within the flat-Earth argumentative discourse: the argumentum ad hominem (argument against the person) and argumentum ad verecundiam (argument from authority). The aim of this thesis is to analyse the flat Earthers’ argumentative discourse through the lens of pragma-dialectics and observe which arguments tend to occur in light of the two authority-based fallacies. Audience adaptation is an equally important aspect to consider when analysing the strategic maneuvering of arguers in discussions. Unlike presentational design and topical potential, audience adaptation remains more open for expansion. It is also the aim of this thesis to expand on audience demand by...Show moreOne of the conspiracy theories that has increased in popularity during the last couple of years is about the Earth being flat. YouTube and the internet have played an important role in the wide spreading of the idea. Based on the apparent mistrust by flat Earthers of certain authorities, two types of fallacies seem predominant within the flat-Earth argumentative discourse: the argumentum ad hominem (argument against the person) and argumentum ad verecundiam (argument from authority). The aim of this thesis is to analyse the flat Earthers’ argumentative discourse through the lens of pragma-dialectics and observe which arguments tend to occur in light of the two authority-based fallacies. Audience adaptation is an equally important aspect to consider when analysing the strategic maneuvering of arguers in discussions. Unlike presentational design and topical potential, audience adaptation remains more open for expansion. It is also the aim of this thesis to expand on audience demand by including interdisciplinary behavioural studies. This is to understand the general attitudes and characteristics of flat Earthers and their audiences. In sum, the analysis is about how flat Earthers take into account their different audiences to maneuver strategically in the discussion by means of the authority-based fallacies. It could be observed that the fallacies of ad hominem, ad verecundiam (and its populistic variant ad populum) were advanced in strategically different ways. From appealing to God, the Bible, scientific referents, to even their own logical understanding of the world. Flat Earthers employed each of these strategies to both defend and attack standpoints while attempting to comply to their audiences. With these strategies, it could be identified that the main audiences flat Earthers wanted to adapt to were religious people. More specifically, Christian individuals with or without a conspiracy ideation who consider the government, NASA and anyone related to these as untrustworthy and dishonest. Other targeted audiences could include potential flat Earthers who may distrust established authorities and/or are Christian.Show less

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“The Bible is a flat-Earth book”: An Extended Pragma-Dialectical Analysis of Audience Adaptation in the Flat-Earth Conspiracy Theory