“... Inconceivable, Unrealistic and Inhumane”. Internet Communication on the Flood Disaster in West Germany of July 2021 between Conspiracy Theories and Moralization—A Neopragmatic Explorative Study

Olaf Kühne,Marie-Luise Zimmer,Greta Schäffauer,Lara Koegst

doi:10.3390/su132011427

Abstract

The aim of this article is an explorative study of the debate on the flood in the western part of Germany in July 2021, based on the comments found below the coverage of a German public television channel (ZDF) published on YouTube. Based on the neopragmatic framing of the analysis by connecting morality and mass media according to Luhmann, as well as Dahrendorf’s conflict theory, four patterns of interpretation were identified which illustrate a high moralization of the conflict: conclusions drawn from the storm (e.g., of a political nature, references to COVID-19, etc.), far-reaching, predominantly negative interpretations that place the storm and its consequences in the context of other negatively interpreted aspects, as well as rational and empathetic interpretations regarding expressions of sympathy and offers of help, and, ultimately, interpretations that range from climate change and planning failures to various conspiracy-theoretical claims of responsibility for the flooding. All in all, a transformation from conflicts of interest and facts to conflicts of identity and values is taking place, revealing two utopias: the utopia in which man and nature are in harmonic unity, as well as the utopia of the satisfaction of individual (material) needs in a stable material-spatial and legal framework. Science has an instrumental application in both utopias.

Highlights

In July 2021, Germany experienced its worst natural disaster since the floods on the North Sea coast, Hamburg, in 1962
Extensive relief efforts were spontaneously launched and coordinated; at the same time, a fierce debate broke out on the Internet about the classification of the events. This debate will be examined pars pro toto, embedded in the current state of research on conflicts over spatial change, in the context of measures related to adaptation to and mitigation of anthropogenic climate change in this article [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11]
We addressed conflicts that develop from the application of moralizations on the one hand and from the application of different morals on the other

Summary

Introduction

In July 2021, Germany experienced its worst natural disaster since the floods on the North Sea coast, Hamburg, in 1962. Extensive (usually private) relief efforts were spontaneously launched and coordinated; at the same time, a fierce debate broke out on the Internet about the classification of the events This debate will be examined pars pro toto, embedded in the current state of research on conflicts over spatial change, in the context of measures related to adaptation to and mitigation of anthropogenic climate change in this article [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11]. 1000 comments on the contribution “Das Hochwasser und seine Folgen im Westen Deutschlands” (“The Flood and its Consequences in western Germany”) of the Second German Television (ZDF; public television) made available on the platform YouTube are examined content-analytically and the results are discussed against the background of Niklas Luhmann’s media theory and Ralf Dahrendorf’s conflict theory

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Conclusion