Flat-earth communities on Brazilian Telegram: when faith is used to question the existence of gravity as a physics phenomenon
Ergon Cugler de Moraes Silva

TL;DR
This study analyzes how Brazilian flat-earth communities on Telegram use faith and conspiracy theories, especially during COVID-19, to challenge scientific concepts like gravity and promote alternative worldviews.
Contribution
It provides a detailed characterization of Brazilian flat-earth communities on Telegram, highlighting their use of religious themes and their role in spreading conspiracy theories.
Findings
Flat-earth discussions increased by 400% during the pandemic
Communities serve as portals for other conspiracy theories
Religious themes are central to community narratives
Abstract
Conspiracy theories related to flat-earthism have gained traction on Brazilian Telegram, especially in times of global crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, when distrust in scientific and governmental institutions has intensified. Therefore, this study aims to address the research question: how are Brazilian conspiracy theory communities on flat earth topics characterized and articulated on Telegram? It is worth noting that this study is part of a series of seven studies whose main objective is to understand and characterize Brazilian conspiracy theory communities on Telegram. This series of seven studies is openly and originally available on arXiv at Cornell University, applying a mirrored method across the seven studies, changing only the thematic object of analysis and providing investigation replicability, including with proprietary and authored codes, adding to the culture of…
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