Parliament, petitions and pandemic: Conspiracism in Australia's federal e‐petitions system, 2020−2021

Abstract

AbstractDuring the COVID‐19 pandemic, some groups and individuals rearticulated state power through conspiracy theories. Despite their fringe status, conspiracy theory beliefs can directly animate citizen's engagements with institutions. Drawing on Barkun's ‘conventional’ and ‘stigmatised’ knowledge types, we analyse the appearance of conspiracism in citizen e‐petitions, and their rebuttal by government ministries. Our data are e‐petitions submitted to the House of Representatives in the Parliament of Australia between 2020 and 2021. Petitions and responses are snapshots of pandemic governance in motion: unfolding through contested interpretations of a diverse range of subjects including virology, immunisation and border security. The novel characteristics of conspiracist petitions allow theories to persist, irrespective of their place in wider society: they appropriate e‐petition system affordances, compete directly with institutions and officials, reframe events to maintain narratives over time, and serve as entrepreneurial activity for individual conspiracists. E‐petitions remain an essential democratic forum between citizens and federal parliament but represent challenges for policymaking and government communication in uncertain times.