Incivility and Deliberation: Understanding the Discourse Around Race, Sexual Orientation, and Politics Through Online Comments

• In Event: Incivility in Audience Comments

Abstract

Drawing on the theory of deliberative democracy, this study sought to understand whether news story comments can fulfill a potential for public deliberation. It also examined the extent of incivility in comments. News story comments (N = 2,497) posted on four news websites in regard to three controversial topics related to race, sexual orientation, and politics were quantitatively content analyzed. Results reveal that uncivil attributes, such as profanity, insulting language, and bigoted speech, marred 17.8% of comments. In contrast, deliberative attributes, such as providing evidence to support one’s view or asking legitimate questions, were present in 27.1% of comments. Notably, results showed that uncivil and deliberative attributes occurred in some of the same comments, suggesting that incivility and deliberation may co-exist. Findings also showed that the extent of incivility varied based on the topic and news site, not on whether the comment was posted anonymously or with a full name.

Author

• Gina Masullo Chen, The U of Texas at Austin