The Journal of Linguistics

SUBMITINFORMATION
EnglishTürkçe

Research Article


DOI :10.26650/jol.2022.1185466   IUP :10.26650/jol.2022.1185466    Full Text (PDF)

Mis/disinformation on COVID-19 in Social Media Narratives in Nigeria and Iraq: An Exploratory Investigation of their Linguistic Features from Pragmatic Perspectives

Ahmed Mohammed Bedu, Hind Moayad Ismail

The outbreak of Coronavirus 2019, known as COVID-19, has stimulated social unrest in all nations and at the same time has facilitated the spread of mis/ disinformation about the pandemic in both mainstream and new media. It has also stimulated various research works that have investigated mis/disinformation on the pandemic, especially the social media narratives, through various factchecking mechanisms. The fact-checking research that many researchers utilise to authenticate the source of this mis/disinformation about the plague focuses little or no attention on linguistic phenomena in the COVID-19 narratives in the social media discourse. The present paper, which deploys the qualitative method of analysis of information manipulation theory (IMT), investigates the linguistic features of mis/disinformation about COVID-19 from the data drawn from various social media platforms in Nigeria and Iraq. The research findings attempt to answer two research questions: Is mis/disinformation about COVID-19 detectable in the social media discourse pragmatically? Does mis/ disinformation about the pandemic contains any linguistic features which language users utilise to achieve their intended communicative action? The findings, which show that IMT offers a multidimensional approach to the investigation of misinformation and disinformation about COVID-19, indicate that misinformation and disinformation can be detectable from non-observation of Grice's (1989) conversational implicature principles. In rendering a pragmatic explanation for why certain social media narratives on COVID-19 mis/disinform, the study findings reveal that there are linguistic features in the misinformed and disinformed contents that aid the manipulation of information to give partial information or prevent the eventuality in which the information content can be tagged as a total lie.

Keywords: Misinformation, Disinformation, COVID-19, Information manipulation theory

PDF View

References

  • Africa Resilience Network, ARN (2021). Combating covid-19 misinformation in Nigeria: A compendium of selected stories from the ARN project. Abuja: Authorpedia Publishers. Retrieved from https://www.icirnigeria. org/icirup/2021/09/ENGLISH-COMBATING-COVID-19-MISINFORMATION-IN-NIGERIA.pdf google scholar
  • Bedu, A. M. (2017). Semantico-pragmatic interrelation of editorials and their headlines in English-speaking Nigerian newspapers, Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis Süleyman Demirel Üniversity, Isparta. google scholar
  • Bedu, A.M., & Thamer, A.A. (2022). A semantic evaluation of ideological positioning in awareness campaign against Covid-19 pandemic in Nigeria and Iraq from appraisal framework perspective. Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies, 18(1), 159-168. Doi: 10.52462/jlls.172. google scholar
  • Bowers, J.W., Elliott, N.D., & Desmond, R.J. (1977). Exploiting pragmatic rules: Devious messages. Human Communication Research, 3, 235-2 google scholar
  • Charteris-Black, J. (2021). Metaphors of coronavirus: Invisible enemy or zombie apocalypse? Cham: Palgrave Macmillan google scholar
  • Chen, K., Luo, Y.; Hu, A., Zhao, J. & Zhang L. (2021). Characteristics of misinformation spreading on social media during the covid-19 outbreak in China: A descriptive analysis, Risk Management and Healthcare Policy 2021:14 1869-1879. google scholar
  • Chilton, P. (2004). Analyzing political discourse: theory and practice. London: Routledge. google scholar
  • Cinelli M, Quattrociocchi W, Galeazzi A, Valensise CM, Brugnoli E, Schmidt AL, Zola P, Zollo F, & Scala A.(2020). The covid-19 social media infodemic. Sci Rep.;10(1):16598. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-73510-5. PMID: 33024152; PMCID: PMC7538912. google scholar
  • Grice, H. P. 1975. “Logic and conversation”, in P. Cole and J. L. Morgan (eds.), Syntax and Semantics Vol. 3: Speech Acts, Academic Press, New York. 41-58 google scholar
  • Grice, H. P. 1978. Some further notes on logic and conversation. In P. Cole (Ed.), Syntax and semantics, Vol. 9: Pragmatics (pp. 113-128). New York: Academic Press. google scholar
  • Grice, H. P. 1989. Studies in the ways with words. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. google scholar
  • Guess, A. M. & Lyon, B. (2020). ‘Misinformation, disinformation, and online propaganda’ In google scholar
  • Persily, N. & Tucker, J. A. (eds.) Social Media and Democracy: The State of the Field, Prospects for Reform.London: University of Cambridge P. 10-33 google scholar
  • Ibrahim, B. and Sulaiman, A. (2020). Semiotic communication: An approach of understanding a meaning in communication, International Journal of Media and Communication Research Volume 1 (1): 22-32. google scholar
  • Jack, C. (2017). Lexicon of lies: Terms for problematic information. Data & Society, 3, 22. google scholar
  • Katermina, V. & Yachenko, E. (2020). Axiology of covid-19 as a linguistic phenomenon in English mass media discourse. Advances in Journalism and Communication, 2020, 8, 59-67. DOI: 10.4236/ajc.2020.82005 google scholar
  • Linden D,, Lasorsa, D. L. &. Lewis, S. C. (2009) The news readability problem, Journalism Practice, 3:1, 1-12, DOI: 10.1080/17512780802560708 google scholar
  • McCornack, S. (1992). Information manipulation theory Communication Monographs 59(1):1-16. doi: 10.1080/03637759209376245 google scholar
  • Metts, S. (1989). An exploratory investigation of deception in close relationships, Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 6, 159-180. google scholar
  • Metts, S., & Chronis, H. (1986). An exploratory investigation of relational deception. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Communication Association, Chicago, IL. google scholar
  • Sperber, D. (2000). Metarepresentations in an evolutionary perspective. In D. Sperber D. (2000). (ed.), Metarepresentations: A multidisciplinary perspective. (Oxford University Press), 117-137 google scholar
  • Starbird, K., Arif, A., & Wilson, T. (2019). Disinformation as collaborative work: Surfacing the participatory nature of strategic information operations. Proceedings of the ACM on Human Computer Interaction, 3(CSCW), 1-26. google scholar
  • Stewart, M. (2021). Defending weapons inspections from the effects of disinformation. American Journal of International Law, 115, 106-110. google scholar
  • Wahl-Jorgensen, Andrew W., Richard, S., Janet H., Garcia-Blanco, I., Dencik, L., Stephen C., Carter, C., & Stuart A. (2016). the future ofjournalism. Journalism Practice 10 (7): 808-814. google scholar
  • Wilson, T., & Starbird, K. (2020). Cross-platform disinformation campaigns: lessons learned and next steps. Harvard Kennedy School Misinformation Review, 1(1), 1-13. google scholar

Citations

Copy and paste a formatted citation or use one of the options to export in your chosen format


EXPORT



APA

Bedu, A.M., & Ismail, H.M. (2022). Mis/disinformation on COVID-19 in Social Media Narratives in Nigeria and Iraq: An Exploratory Investigation of their Linguistic Features from Pragmatic Perspectives. The Journal of Linguistics, 0(39), 89-103. https://doi.org/10.26650/jol.2022.1185466


AMA

Bedu A M, Ismail H M. Mis/disinformation on COVID-19 in Social Media Narratives in Nigeria and Iraq: An Exploratory Investigation of their Linguistic Features from Pragmatic Perspectives. The Journal of Linguistics. 2022;0(39):89-103. https://doi.org/10.26650/jol.2022.1185466


ABNT

Bedu, A.M.; Ismail, H.M. Mis/disinformation on COVID-19 in Social Media Narratives in Nigeria and Iraq: An Exploratory Investigation of their Linguistic Features from Pragmatic Perspectives. The Journal of Linguistics, [Publisher Location], v. 0, n. 39, p. 89-103, 2022.


Chicago: Author-Date Style

Bedu, Ahmed Mohammed, and Hind Moayad Ismail. 2022. “Mis/disinformation on COVID-19 in Social Media Narratives in Nigeria and Iraq: An Exploratory Investigation of their Linguistic Features from Pragmatic Perspectives.” The Journal of Linguistics 0, no. 39: 89-103. https://doi.org/10.26650/jol.2022.1185466


Chicago: Humanities Style

Bedu, Ahmed Mohammed, and Hind Moayad Ismail. “Mis/disinformation on COVID-19 in Social Media Narratives in Nigeria and Iraq: An Exploratory Investigation of their Linguistic Features from Pragmatic Perspectives.” The Journal of Linguistics 0, no. 39 (Jul. 2024): 89-103. https://doi.org/10.26650/jol.2022.1185466


Harvard: Australian Style

Bedu, AM & Ismail, HM 2022, 'Mis/disinformation on COVID-19 in Social Media Narratives in Nigeria and Iraq: An Exploratory Investigation of their Linguistic Features from Pragmatic Perspectives', The Journal of Linguistics, vol. 0, no. 39, pp. 89-103, viewed 27 Jul. 2024, https://doi.org/10.26650/jol.2022.1185466


Harvard: Author-Date Style

Bedu, A.M. and Ismail, H.M. (2022) ‘Mis/disinformation on COVID-19 in Social Media Narratives in Nigeria and Iraq: An Exploratory Investigation of their Linguistic Features from Pragmatic Perspectives’, The Journal of Linguistics, 0(39), pp. 89-103. https://doi.org/10.26650/jol.2022.1185466 (27 Jul. 2024).


MLA

Bedu, Ahmed Mohammed, and Hind Moayad Ismail. “Mis/disinformation on COVID-19 in Social Media Narratives in Nigeria and Iraq: An Exploratory Investigation of their Linguistic Features from Pragmatic Perspectives.” The Journal of Linguistics, vol. 0, no. 39, 2022, pp. 89-103. [Database Container], https://doi.org/10.26650/jol.2022.1185466


Vancouver

Bedu AM, Ismail HM. Mis/disinformation on COVID-19 in Social Media Narratives in Nigeria and Iraq: An Exploratory Investigation of their Linguistic Features from Pragmatic Perspectives. The Journal of Linguistics [Internet]. 27 Jul. 2024 [cited 27 Jul. 2024];0(39):89-103. Available from: https://doi.org/10.26650/jol.2022.1185466 doi: 10.26650/jol.2022.1185466


ISNAD

Bedu, AhmedMohammed - Ismail, HindMoayad. “Mis/disinformation on COVID-19 in Social Media Narratives in Nigeria and Iraq: An Exploratory Investigation of their Linguistic Features from Pragmatic Perspectives”. The Journal of Linguistics 0/39 (Jul. 2024): 89-103. https://doi.org/10.26650/jol.2022.1185466



TIMELINE


Submitted07.10.2022
Accepted14.01.2023
Published Online01.02.2023

LICENCE


Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC)

This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon your work non-commercially, and although their new works must also acknowledge you and be non-commercial, they don’t have to license their derivative works on the same terms.


SHARE




Istanbul University Press aims to contribute to the dissemination of ever growing scientific knowledge through publication of high quality scientific journals and books in accordance with the international publishing standards and ethics. Istanbul University Press follows an open access, non-commercial, scholarly publishing.