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“The scandal that shocked the world”: conspirituality and online scam ads

Mark Andrejevic, Christopher O’Neill, Isabella Mahoney

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review

Abstract

Drawing on a collection of online ads for scam bitcoin exchanges, this article situates their appeal and aesthetic within the longer history of populist political marketing. This history connects with current forms of commercial “conspirituality” that thrive on social media platforms, inviting users to suspend their disbelief in miracle cures and get-rich-quick schemes. The scam ads we examined mobilize critiques of existing social and economic inequality to enhance the appeal of the false solutions they offer. Following recent work on conspirituality, the article draws upon Jacques Ranciere’s notion of “dissensus” to analyze the ways in which the style and content of scam ads invite a form of “conspiracy believing” that challenges common sense understandings. It then turns to Alenka Zupančič’s critical psychoanalytic theory to argue that these beliefs, far from critiquing contemporary capitalism, work to disavow its pathologies.

Original languageEnglish
Number of pages15
JournalJournal of Information Technology and Politics
DOIs
Publication statusAccepted/In press - 2025

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

  1. SDG 10 - Reduced Inequalities
    SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities

Keywords

  • conspiracy theory
  • conspirituality
  • Cryptocurrency
  • scam ads
  • social media

Access to Document

Other files and links

  • ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society

    Thomas, J. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Burgess, J. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Sellis, T. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Horst, H. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Lupton, D. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Goggin, G. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Pink, S. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Sanderson, M. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Henman, P. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Bruns, A. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Dan, H. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Andrejevic, M. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Suzor, N. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Potts, J. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Parker, C. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Leckie, C. A. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Dowse, L. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Richardson, M. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Schulz, W. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Fors, V. (Partner Investigator (PI)), de Rijke, M. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Puschmann, C. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Jurko, I. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Stoyanovich, J. (Partner Investigator (PI)), Yeung, K. (Partner Investigator (PI)) & Pasquale, F. (Partner Investigator (PI))

    27/08/20 → 27/08/27

    Project: Research

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