Blame-avoiding strategies for a digital scandal

A critical discourse analysis of Mark Zuckerberg’s Congressional hearings

Bibliographic Data

ID21200917
AuthorsLiu Ming (0000-0002-3815-4705, Hong Kong Polytechnic University), Yanxi Lu (Sun Yat-sen University)
Year2024
Volume15
Issue3
Pages471-494
Publication date2024-03-29
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePragmatics and Society (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1878-9714 • E-ISSN: 1878-9722
PublisherJohn Benjamins Publishing Company (PUBLISHER • NL)
DOI10.1075/ps.21063.liu
OpenAlexW4381281288
LanguageIT
Citations received4
References cited40

The burgeoning digital economy has also aroused wide public concerns over its improper use of personal data for economic and political profits. This study focuses on the milestone Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal and examines how Mark Zuckerberg succeeded in avoiding public blame during two US Congressional hearings. An integrated analytic framework has been established by combining blame theory and critical discourse analysis to examine blame-avoiding strategies used by Mark Zuckerberg during the two Congressional hearings. The findings have revealed not only the topics but also the specific strategies and the linguistic means and realizations for these strategies. It is expected that this study can generate significant implications on blame-avoiding strategies by digital corporations for their inherently flawed business models

Blame · Economics · Law and economics · Milestone · Political science · Politics · Positive economics · Public relations · Sociology · Discourse Analysis in Language Studies · History · Law · Opinion Dynamics and Social Influence · Psychology · Public Relations and Crisis Communication · Social Psychology