How Slogans Curate Public Opinion

Hard Lessons from Lakoff and the Linguists

Bibliographic Data

ID6111963
AuthorsRenee A Irvin (0000-0001-5038-1591, University of Oregon, corresponding author)
Year2019
Volume21
Issue4
Pages433-447
Publication date2019-07-04
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenuePublic Integrity (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1558-0989 • E-ISSN: 1099-9922
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/10999922.2018.1544022
OpenAlexW2907762751
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited44

Many a policy scholar has viewed election results with bewilderment: How can so many people persistently vote against their self-interest? In an attempt to at least partially address this conundrum, this article introduces persuasion techniques that can render good research and evidence largely irrelevant in the court of public opinion. By using U.S. debates about taxation and economic inequality as the linguistic setting of interest, the study illustrates the mechanics of curating public opinion at both ends of the political spectrum. Solutions to economic inequality are complex, yet public opinion can turn toward or away from a proposed policy reform when a few reductive key words distill complexity down to a convincing message: the micro-narrative. Critically examining the broad narrative arc of the policy process is not enough; one must also examine the social construction occurring when word choice is used as persuasive weaponry in the selling of policy reform. The study finishes with a research agenda and a provocation for researchers regarding their role in policy reform. Should academicians remain behind the research curtain, or should they actively critique or even guide the narrative selling of their research

Linguistics · Media studies · Political science · Politics · Public opinion · Public relations · Sociology · Discourse Analysis in Language Studies · Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies · Law · Philosophy · Social Media and Politics

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