Twitter, incivility, and presidential communication: A theoretical incursion into spectacle and power

ABSTRACT

By approaching civility as an operational logic for democracy, we ask how incivility is a strategy related to power and domination, particularly from the president of the United States. We propose that Twitter is part of an infrastructure of incivility, through which structures and discursive mechanisms contribute to a devaluation of normative democratic discourses. Spectacle provides a theoretical framework to contextualize the forces at play in mediating our relations. Using President Trump’s Twitter use as a case study, we offer four propositions that together formulate a framework for theorizing the strategic use and deployment of incivility as an increasingly legitimate, yet problematic tool for democratic governance.

KEYWORDS:

• Incivility
• spectacle
• platform
• infrastructure
• discourse

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their insightful critiques, Steve Hunt for commenting on earlier drafts, and the National Institute for Civil Discourse for its support.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Lauren Bratslavsky is an Assistant Professor of Mass Communication.

Nathan Carpenter is the Director of Convergent Media.

Joseph Zompetti is a Professor in Communication Studies at the School of Communication, Illinois State University.

Notes

1 This comment reflects the vernacular treatment of incivility as personal and rude behaviour. Name-calling and capital letters as the digital equivalent of shouting are well known characteristics of incivility, as explained by organizations such as the National Institute of Civil Discourse.