A Critical Discourse Analysis of Online Hate Speech in Donald Trump's Tweets

Abstract

Researchers have used Critical Discourse Analysis to examine how hate speech is constructed in the Social media posts of former U.S. President Donald J. Trump. The analysis utilizes Norman Fairclough’s three-dimensional approach to examine a carefully selected set of President Trump’s tweets from 2017, which coincided with intense political polarization and polarizing policy enactments. The study explores how Trump’s online speech expresses, organizes and reinforces hateful beliefs and attitudes.

             The analysis demonstrates that Donald Trump is a Populis rhetoric that employs recurrent rhetorical devices such as negative stereotyping, division-making, and implied intimidation to create clear differences between those in power and perceived outsiders. Such techniques help reinforce prejudiced notions and strengthen the positions of dominant groups. This research places Trump’s tweets in their wider socio-political setting to show how social media influences the ways in which prejudicial views are conveyed and disseminated. This research adds to the scholarship on how hate speech is perpetuated via online political discourse.