COVID–19 has not only resulted in nearly two and a half million deaths globally but it has also spawned a pandemic of misinformation and conspiracies. In this article I examine COVID–19 misinformation and conspiracies in the United States (US). These misinformation and conspiracies have been commonly argued to be anti-science. I argue, although it is important to rebut false information and stop their spread, social scientists need to analyse how such anti-science claims are discursively framed and interpreted. Specifically, I show how the framing of the anti-science conspiracies utilise the credibility of science and scientists. I also explore how the COVID–19 misinformation and conspiracies were given different meaning among different social groups. The article is divided into three sections. In the first section I analyse the discursive emplotment of the Plandemic video that had Dr Judy Mikovits presenting several COVID–19 conspiracy theories and went viral before it was taken down from major social media platforms. I show how the video draws on the credibility of science, scientists, and scientific journals to present misinformation and conspiracies claims against vaccination, mask wearing, etc. The second section explores how COVID–19 misinformation and conspiracies were interpreted among the African-American community by drawing on the history of black community’s experiences in the US and as such how their interpretations stand in contrast to the interpretations of the COVID–19 misinformation and conspiracies among the White community. The last section analyses the role of STS in engaging with anti-science and post-truth issues and emphasises the need to excavate genealogies of the present even with regard to misinformation and conspiracies.

even as anxieties in relation to omicron, the new COVID-19 variant, were continuing to grow, Elon Musk tweeted the meme as shown in Figure 1.