No Reason[.] [I]t /Should/ Happen here”
Analyzing Flynn’s Retroactive Doublespeak During a QAnon Event
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12409331 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Josephine Lukito (0000-0002-0771-1070, School of Journalism and Media, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, USA, corresponding author), Jacob Gursky (Software and Societal Systems Department, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, USA), Jordan Foley (0000-0003-0719-8315, Washington State University), Yunkang Yang (0000-0002-3798-8775, Texas A&M University), Katie Joseff (School of Journalism and Media, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, USA), Porismita Borah (0000-0002-1140-4233, Washington State University) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 40 |
| Issue | 5 |
| Pages | 576-595 |
| Publication date | 2023-03-06 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Political Communication (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1058-4609 • E-ISSN: 1091-7675 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/10584609.2023.2185332 |
| OpenAlex | W4323363191 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 41 |
As digitally organized, conspiratorial extremist groups gain more attention in the United States, researchers face increasing calls to better understand their in-group and out-group communication strategies. Using the QAnon conspiracy community as a case study, we use data from news coverage, social media, and ethnographic field work surrounding a prominent QAnon conference to analyze the uptake and aftermath of a controversial comment made by a public figure at the event. Our mixed methods analysis finds that QAnon's efforts to use retroactive doublespeak produced mixed results, persuading some members to re-interpret the comment; however, there was a limit to its effectiveness. Our findings contribute to the literature on political extremism and digital media by elucidating how anti-publics within the QAnon movement reconstruct events and thread the rhetorical needle to reconcile contradictory messages. In particular, we highlight the factors that precede anti-publics' use of retroactive doublespeak and discuss its use to negotiate the tension between in-group and out-group interpretations of events
Literature · Media studies · Negotiation · Political science · Politics · Publics · Rhetorical question · Social science · Sociology · Hate Speech and Cyberbullying Detection · Law · Misinformation and Its Impacts · Psychology · Social Media and Politics · Social Psychology
Asking Questions of the Data
AcademictwitteR
Technological change and the shifting nature of political organization
Deliberative Democracy or Agonistic Pluralism?
Meaning Multiplicity Across Communication Subfields
Collective Action on the Web
Fascist cross-pollination of Australian conspiracist Telegram channels
Alt-right pipeline
QAnon and the information dark age
Before the ‘Arab Spring’
The alt-right digital migration
Targeting dominant publics
The online anti-public sphere
Deception as a Bridging Concept in the Study of Disinformation, Misinformation, and Misperceptions
Seeking the "Counter," in Counterpublics
Deplatforming
Facts Do Care about Your Feelings
Who Supports QAnon? A Case Study in Political Extremism
Dog-Whistle Politics
Discourse, Pragmatics, Conversation, Analysis
Radical pluralism and free speech in online public spaces
The Role of the Internet in Facilitating Violent Extremism
Introducing Parselmouth
From Myths of Victimhood to Fantasies of Violence
Rethinking the Public Sphere
Publics and Counterpublics
Discursive Deflection
Truth Bias and Partisan Bias in Political Deception Detection
| Unique citing works | 4 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2 |
| Citation span | 2024 - 2025 (2) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 4 |