This virtual reality visualization explores discourse on the Telegram app during the initial COVID-19 lockdown in Germany. The spring of 2020 marked the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, which soon became the root of countless sociopolitical phenomena and movements. Across the world, the pandemic led to an upheaval surrounding public health measurements, school closures, lockdowns, and vaccination requirements. Germany initiated its first lockdown in March 2020 and became one of the first countries to face protests against pandemic measures and regulations. Some of these protests were organized by a movement named Querdenken, which translates to “Lateral Thinking.” Although Querdenken took root in the southwestern city of Stuttgart, it evolved into a national movement with activity spanning several German cities. Its followers included a diverse array of skeptics and anti-lockdown protesters. The hybrid messaging app “Telegram” became a hub for COVID-19-related conspiracy theories and protest groups due to its low content regulation, combined with relative anonymity for users. Because many fringe social media platforms have either evolved into outlets for extremism or have been explicitly founded for this aim, it is imperative to understand how the Querdenken movement became so widespread and prominent in Germany through its mobilization in the online space of Telegram. 

In Lateral Thinking Gone VR, a narrative virtual reality (VR) visualization, authors Andreas Bueckle, Mudrika Alla, Juhi Khare, and Kilian Buehling invite you to climb inside topical and geospatial visualizations of German-speaking Telegram groups and channels. 

The application is available for download via the Meta App Lab: https://www.meta.com/experiences/6196572587047487 

Code and technical details are available at https://github.com/cns-iu/issi-vr-workshop-2023/blob/main/README.md.