TY - JOUR
T1 - The Normalization of Hatred
T2 - Identity, Affective Polarization, and Dehumanization on Facebook in the Context of Intractable Political Conflict
AU - Harel, Tal Orian
AU - Jameson, Jessica Katz
AU - Maoz, Ifat
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2020.
PY - 2020/4
Y1 - 2020/4
N2 - Our study uses a qualitative analysis of social media discourse on a Facebook page to demonstrate how the phenomena of affective polarization and dehumanization are manifested through participation in a homogeneous enclave, or echo chamber. We employ Northrup’s theory of identity in intractable conflict to show how users express their desire for psychological and physical separation from the other and use dehumanizing language that normalizes potentially dangerous levels of hatred during their participation on a Facebook page. This study contributes to our understanding of the link between identity, affective polarization, and dehumanization.
AB - Our study uses a qualitative analysis of social media discourse on a Facebook page to demonstrate how the phenomena of affective polarization and dehumanization are manifested through participation in a homogeneous enclave, or echo chamber. We employ Northrup’s theory of identity in intractable conflict to show how users express their desire for psychological and physical separation from the other and use dehumanizing language that normalizes potentially dangerous levels of hatred during their participation on a Facebook page. This study contributes to our understanding of the link between identity, affective polarization, and dehumanization.
KW - affective polarization
KW - dehumanization
KW - identity
KW - intractable conflict
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85084537954&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/2056305120913983
DO - 10.1177/2056305120913983
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AN - SCOPUS:85084537954
SN - 2056-3051
VL - 6
JO - Social Media and Society
JF - Social Media and Society
IS - 2
ER -