Opowieści spiskowe (znane również jako „teorie spiskowe”) utrzymują, że dostarczają prawdziwych i jednoznacznych odpowiedzi na doświadczenia kryzysowe i rozwijają się w połączeniu z tymi ostatnimi: im więcej kryzysów, tym więcej spisków! Nic więc dziwnego, że niedawnym, rozległym i wielopoziomowym kryzysom towarzyszyła kakofonia „modnych” opowieści, w których kryją się spiski, m.in. dotyczące COVID-19, zmiany klimatu, migracji, stagnacji gospodarczej i konfliktów zbrojnego. Te opowieści spiskowe łączą się z globalnymi teoriami spiskowymi (np. Great Reset, QAnon), a także z lokalnymi gwałtownymi protestami opartymi na teoriach spiskowych na poziomie krajowym lub regionalnym.
Pomimo braków merytorycznych i logicznych, które często są wskazywane, teorie spiskowe mają dwie istotne zalety. Jedną jest ich struktura narracyjna, stanowiąca „rozwiązanie” pewnego narracyjnego „problemu”, utożsamianego z omawianym kryzysem. Opowiadają rzekomo tajną historię, która „wyjaśnia” obecny kryzys i na jej podstawie dają wgląd w innowacyjne rozwiązanie. Drugą zaletą jest ich przenośne, niedosłowne sformułowanie w formie metaforycznych i metonimicznych scenariuszy, co pozwala użytkownikom na mentalne anulowanie części swoich opowieści, gdy zostaną one zdemaskowane jako nieprawdziwe, a tym samym zachowanie opowieści, jako całości.
Artykuł zawiera korpusową analizę użycia metafor w opowieściach spiskowych na temat COVID-19 w Wielkiej Brytanii, Stanach Zjednoczonych i Niemczech. Wyjaśnia ich funkcję i szkicuje perspektywy dalszych badań. Omawia również szanse „przeformułowania” wzbogaconych metaforą opowieści spiskowych podczas (perma-)kryzysów i argumentuje, że takie przedsięwzięcie nie może ograniczać się do sprawdzania i poprawiania faktów. Zamiast tego należy wziąć pod uwagę atrakcyjność narracyjną opowieści spiskowych, opartą na ich przenośnej strukturze, aby tym samym ujawnić ich potencjalnie katastrofalne konsekwencje polityczne i społeczne.
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