Understanding Racist Gaslighting Tactics: Disinformation, Decontextualization, and Demagoguery in Attacks on CRT

• In Event: White Epistemic and Affective Violence: From Gaslighting to Innocence

Abstract

This study investigates how racist gaslighting operates within public discourse surrounding Critical Race Theory (CRT) bans in the United States. Drawing on critical race discourse analysis, it examines 17 legislative sessions across seven states that passed CRT bans in 2021. The thematic findings illuminate the ways CRT ban discourse (1) attack the fact of systemic racism, (2) attack opponents' character and (3) appeal to the emotionalities of whiteness. We discuss how these three dimensions are weaponized through racial spectacles that engage on three interrelated rhetorical strategies: disinformation, decontextualization, and demagoguery. These rhetorical strategies reinforce white supremacy. By exposing these tactics, the study contributes to scholarship on racialized education policy and offers practical strategies for resisting epistemic and affective violence.

Authors

• Rican Vue, University of California - Riverside

• Katrya Txay Ly, University of California - Riverside