Hashtag WakeUpAmerica, Hashtag IllegalsAreCriminals: the role of the cyber public sphere in the perpetuation of the Latino cyber-moral panic in the US

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Article Title: #WakeUpAmerica, #IllegalsAreCriminals: the role of the cyber public sphere in the perpetuation of the Latino cyber-moral panic in the US


Find article online: https://journals.scholarsportal.info/details/1369118x/v22i0003/402_trotcplcpitu.xml

doi: 10.1080/1369118X.2017.1388428

Contents

[edit] Context

The internet and the social media sites hosted on it are considered key tools to participate within the public sphere. It is the most efficient outlet of receiving information and exchanging it in todays world. What comes with these powers is the ability to have conversations and share beliefs regarding issues that concern the greater good or even personal agendas. The United States border between Mexico has been an on-going issue for many years that has been driven by fear for white racial frames concerned about losing domination. Amongst the many hashtags that have been used to address those issues are ones like #IllegalsAreCriminals, #MakeAmericaGreatAgain, and #SecureOurBorder.

[edit] Overview

The article by Flores-Yeffal et al. (2019) explores the Latino cyber-moral panic in the online public sphere. The reinforced white racial frame is highlighted by social media and their discursive tools; hashtags, comments, and likes are tools efficiently used in targeting Latino and undocumented workers. Keywords like ‘White Racial Frame’, ‘Moral Panic’, ‘Alternative Facts’, and ‘Systematic Racism’ are thoroughly explained throughout different parts of the article. Yeffal et al. present studies that have been previously conducted on the validity on a lot of the information people come across on Facebook that influence their political opinions; that research proved that between 20 to 39% of that information is false. Finally, Yeffal et al. conducted an online ethnography for all online platforms that involve ‘participatory culture’ which included data (headlines, videos collected over the timespan of eight years. Their results were categorized under different themes and then reassessed for common patterns. Themes that have been identified with this research are ‘denial of facts’, ‘discursive tactics’, ‘emotional posts’.The severity of alarming language varies from one hashtag to the next. For example, hashtags like #SendThemBack would carry more xenophobic tweets. This is an important case to study because when immigrants are portrayed in a negative light and are discussed in conversations as lawbreakers for illegally crossing national boarders, their contributions to the country tend to be forgotten and erased. Language can be designed so effectively and dangerously enough to motivate violence towards “other”. This is difficult to control when social media platforms like Twitter do not have algorithms that prevent tweeting racially motivated messages. The greater issue with twisting language or at times reading false information is that newer information surfaces by the minute; Flores-Yeffal et al. adds that because information appears in that rapid pace, readers do not take the time to check the validity of what they are reading. The results also studied from the research highlights Donald Trump’s direct impact at motivating this conversation to take place in the manner it is currently being discussed. While a lot of the people taking part in these conversation through the hashtags mentioned think they are practicing patriotism, they are practicing racial oppression instead.

[edit] Strengths and Weaknesses

The article explains a lot of key terms that are necessary for understanding the article and grasping a general understanding of the illegal immigration issue entirely. This is done through explaining what the issue is, what causes it, and how it is discussed in the public sphere. It is also very helpful that a study was conducted that dissected different media outlets through studying the volume of tweets under each hashtag.

The weaknesses worth noting with this article is also in the study that was conducted. Different social media sites mobilize people in different ways and cause different reactions and messages; this is not taken under consideration. It would have also been helpful to categorize the types of tweets under the hashtags a little bit better. That could have been done using some sort of bar chart. Everything being tweeted in relation to those hashtags may not necessarily be in support or opposing a specific ideology; spams and non-bias informative tweets are not taken under consideration. The results that were shown in this paper also partially display Facebook data that dates to 2015; other charts for social media sites like Twitter are not included.

[edit] Assessment

In conclusion, social media platforms have developed into a necessary tool to address a lot of political issues that concern the greater good. Flores-Yeffal et al. focuses this conversation on the case of Latino illegal immigration, how it is being handled by social media, and what the effect of it all is. With how new information is processed swiftly through social media platforms, false and misleading information are trends that are nearly impossible to prevent; this becomes a greater issue when users do not take the time to verify what they are reading to keep up with what is constantly being reported to them.


--Am16yp 11:45, 19 March 2019 (EDT)

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