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Granting Permission to Hate? Examining the Application of Techniques of Neutralization in Online Forums Following Instances of Political Violence

Fri, Nov 15, 9:30 to 10:50am, Sierra A - 5th Level

Abstract

Objective:
To date, neutralization theory has focused primarily on individual justifications for so-called conventional offending. Less attention however has been paid to the communities and milieu from which the neutralizing statements may emerge. This study takes a novel approach by examining techniques of neutralization applied by users of an “alternative” social media platform, Parler, in response to offline events involving politically motivated violence.

Data and Methods:
Drawing from a dataset of 183 million Parler posts made by four million users between August 2018 and January 2021, this study uses a mixed-method approach to explore the content of posts published on Parler two weeks before and two weeks after eight high-profile “trigger” events.

Results:
The results highlight the nature of Parler users’ discussions surrounding politically motivated violence in general, and how users rely on techniques of neutralization to rationalize politically motivated violence by “in-group” members against “out-group” members, in particular.

Conclusion:
We conclude with a discussion of study limitations and avenues of future research.

Authors