Covert hate speech: white nationalists and dog whistle communication on Twitter

Ofra Klein, Prashanth Bhat*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter/Conference proceedingChapterAcademic

Abstract

Dog whistling, a form of symbolic communication through seemingly innocuous terms is a common practice for members of far-right movements. This chapter examines how dog whistling was used on Twitter during the 2016 presidential election through a virtual ethnographic approach. Dog whistling serves to circumvent censorship by automated moderation, and adapts historical markers of the far-right as well as symbols used in other media to work within Twitter’s affordances. Thus, Twitter is employed as a channel to spread hate and signal belonging among far-right communities. In doing so, creative use is made of the platform’s technology, in the face of the site’s moderation techniques, to convey white supremacist ideas to a broader audience while staying under the radar of detection.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationTwitter, the public sphere, and the chaos of online deliberation
EditorsGwen Bouvier, Judith Rosenbaum
PublisherPalgrave Macmillan
Chapter7
Pages151-172
Number of pages23
ISBN (Print)9783030414214
Publication statusPublished - 2020
Externally publishedYes

Research programs

  • ESHCC M&C

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