SCIENCE PUB

SCIENCE PUB – CONTAGIOUS CONSPIRACIES: HOW THE FAR-RIGHT EXPLOITED THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC. Our wildly popular Science Pub Series returns for a 12th incredible season! Enjoy lectures on scientific topics of general interest in our Arizona Room over fine craft beer and award-winning pub cuisine. The room opens at 5:00 PM. Avoid disappointment and come down early for dinner and a pint before the presentation which begins at 7:00 PM.

This month’s lecture is an early one and will be presented by Dr. Brian McQuinn, Associate Professor of Politics and International Studies at the University of Regina. This talk previews a new study that examined how government interventions during the COVID-19 pandemic influenced far-right engagement on social media. Using Twitter data from Saskatchewan and the Prairie region, we compared follower trends of far-right accounts with those of provincial legislators (MLAs) across key COVID-19 policy announcements. Through network analysis and time series modeling, we found stark differences in how major policy announcements impacted engagement. These findings highlight the role of public health policies in shaping online mobilization and the effectiveness of deplatforming.