Anti-Science Mythbusting: Crowdsourced Intelligence, Process Democracy and Activism during the Times of Covid 19
Author(s): Rithvik Ramadas and Barrett Brown
Abstract:
Covid 19 has been disrupting normal livelihoods and businesses, for people who have a day job life has been difficult. However, crimes, scams, and misinformation have been rampant and criminals carrying these businesses have been reaping profits. Alt Right Grifters are the new misinformation psychological warfare specialists, and they have been notorious for derailing movements. QAnon has been rampant on social media and has been blamed for the massive spikes of Covid 19 infections across the United States and the West. In this new pandemic pandemonium traditional activism and organization is under threat as public assembly and large-scale events will get difficult to organize. Online activism can get reduced to small information bubbles and the information would not be able to reach its intended audience. To innovate and keep the format of activism interesting we are exploring an online activism gaming platform built using workadventu.re to organize in Cyberspace, share information to curb misinformation, and help activists stay sharp during the pandemic. In this paper we will present the game interface and two case studies of myth-busting achieved via this form of activism, the first one being debunking the UFO phenomenon and the second one thwarting Alt Right grifter narratives to protect activists and prevent the spread of misinformation.
Practical Implications: This methodology of research can be applied to stop the spread of misinformation in the post truth era. This methodology can be used to quickly evaluate the veracity of any news or information using multiple sources with high reliability.
Keywords: Crowdsourcing; Game Design; Gamification; Fact Checking; Journalism; Peer Reviewed Research; Psychological Warfare
Cite as – Ramadas, Rithvik, & Brown, Barrett. (2023). Anti-Science Mythbusting: Crowdsourced Intelligence, Process Democracy and Activism during the Times of Covid 19. International Journal of Design and Allied Sciences (IJDAS), 2(1), 53–57.