Metaphorical Blending in Conspiracy Theory Discourses: a German Case Study

This paper studies the blending of diverse conspiracy theories (CTs) in the context of public debates in Germany about the COVID-19 pandemic, with a special focus on right-wing extremist CTs. They provide a prototypical example of metaphorical projections of fictitious resistance/war scenarios onto a conceptually alien topic (i.e. that of pandemic containment), as predicted by Danesi’s (2023) analysis of CTs. Retrospective interviews with CT believers confirm a degree of conceptual “fossilization” (Danesi) but it still remains an open question whether this is the result of neurophysiological processes, as posited by Danesi, or of socio-emotive benefits, such as emotional reassurance in identity building. In either case, mere fact-checking and/or -falsification is insufficient to prevent the CTs’ socially detrimental effects. I therefore argue that in addition to cognitive analysis, CTs have to be confronted by counter-narratives that empower the recipients to rely on their own epistemic competencies.