缅北禁地

Alicando, Merceditha C. » Research » Scholarly articles

Title	Unveiling COVID-19 Chismis (Gossip): Linguistic Features, Social Power, and Cultural Implications
Proponent/s	Acuram, Jyza Mae A. and Luab, Kyriss Myshane V.
Adviser / Supervisor	Alicando, Merceditha
Panelists	Cecile Antonette O. Lim; Josephine May Grace A. Famoso
College	COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
Department	ENGLISH
Submission date	2022
Abstract	This paper identifies the facts and the chismis circulating about COVID-19. It delves on addressing fake news and misinformation about COVID-19 and in examining the implication of these identified COVID-19 chismis to social power and Filipino culture. This study helps guide people in assessing and tracking COVID-19 information with the hopes of putting an end to these spreading pandemic chismis. Of the 43 COVID-19 narratives collected, 29 (67%) are classified as chismis and the remaining 14 (33%) are facts. The most occurring facts are as follows: a.) it is vital for people to get vaccinated once they are sure that their immune system can take care of it; b.) there is still no cure for COVID-19; and c.) if you get vaccinated you will experience coughs, fever, and your body will weaken. On the other hand, the most dominantly occurring chismis include the following: a.) COVID-19 vaccines cause death; b.) tuob or steam inhalation cures COVID-19; and, c.) COVID-19 vaccines turn people into zombies. Moreover, the varying sources of information were uncovered during the interview: friends, neighbors, strangers, and social media. Finally, through the use of Grice鈥檚 conversational maxims, the most common reason these COVID-19 chismis came to life, perceived as facts, and believed by so many people is because of the abuse and misuse of social power, and the chismis culture. They play significant roles in the spread of these COVID-19 misinformation and disinformation.
Index terms / Keywords	COVID-19, misinformation, facts, chismis, language, social power, culture