Deceit by Design: A Two-Part Analysis

Abstract

Klein shifts the focus on digital hate inward to examine the strategic design and driving discourses found in today’s extremist websites. Through a content and frame analysis, the research peels back the presentation, functions, and coded language of hate by addressing two underlying questions: First, how have hate websites designed their homepages and content offerings to generate an air of legitimacy and community in keeping with Internet culture? Second, how have the hate sites framed the modern messages of intolerance intended to target unwelcome races, ethnicities, genders, nationalities, and sexual orientations? Klein digs into the predominant claims and encoded language circulating in the news stories and forums of these sites to expose six common narratives emanating from digital hate culture today.