Reshaping Epistemic Identity on X/Twitter: A Spanish-English Contrast

This chapter reports on a cross-linguistic micro-analysis of how Spanish- and English-speaking X/Twitter users attempt to remould the epistemic identity of two allegedly reliable and trustworthy institutions: namely, the Spanish Ministry of Health and the World Health Organisation. Relying on two datasets in these languages, the analysis looks into the verbal actions that both language-groups of users perform with a view to casting doubts on the well-intendedness and believability of the recommendations that the two institutions made during the COVID-19 pandemic concerning vaccination, the use of facemasks and other sanitary measures. In addition to evidencing different preferences in terms of the actions accomplished in order to challenge the two institutions and the information that they imparted about such issues, the analysis reveals how the two groups of users intersubjectively enact a new identity for the two institutions as supposed liars and criminals, while they claim for themselves an identity of rebellious and non-gullible resistance citizens. Finally, the analysis also delves into the consequences of such actions: pathologisation, dehumanisation, silencing and gaslighting of the two institutions.