ABSTRACT
Political discourse in the age of Web 2.0 is intricately woven with the art of language and rhetoric. The pervasive influence of social media platforms provides a powerful channel for disseminating curated information, shaping audience perspectives. This paper aims to investigate the impact of social media on the proliferation of right-wing populism, employing Donald Trump’s tweets and the “Save America” Rally speech as a case study. Through quantitative and qualitative analysis, the study will scrutinize the role of social media in potentially influencing and manipulating the masses
The rise of right-wing sentiments, in contrast to liberal viewpoints, is closely tied to the affordances of Web 2.0. Leaders deploy various deceptive tactics to foster belief in alternative truths, exploiting the challenges of fact-checking in a post-truth era. Social media algorithms play a pivotal role in creating ideological compartments, fostering confirmation bias, and leading to the polarization of beliefs. The intricate dynamics of social media, influenced by algorithms and human tendencies like confirmation bias, create an environment conducive to the dissemination of specific narratives. Drawing on Bruno Latour’s actor–network theory, this paper explores the interplay between human and nonhuman agents, illustrating the neural networks within the brain as essential elements in the mechanics of brainwashing..
