The Commenter in Chief: Trump and the Political Economy of the Internet

Presenter Information

Daniel ChapmanFollow

Biographical Sketch

Daniel Chapman is an associate professor of Curriculum Studies at Georgia Southern University. His research interests include documentary films and digital media.

Type of Presentation

Individual presentation

Brief Description of Presentation

Through analyzing Trump’s campaign rhetoric in his rallies and debates, I argue that Trump is the embodiment of the uncivil and anonymous comments found across internet platforms. The Internet made his discourse acceptable, normal, and, even desirable. He has become, in fact, our Commenter-in-Chief.

Abstract of Proposal

With Trump’s election to the presidency, there can be no denying that digital media was used in new ways in our elections. Web 2.0 moved us from a static e-commerce environment to a more interactive and social environment (Taylor, 2014). Likewise, Trump’s campaign moved us from discussing individual donations online to a larger and more social (or anti-social) use of Internet tools: Twitter, Breitbart, and Wikileaks, and fake news. The Trump campaign exploited the worst forms of social relationships exposed on the Internet – flaming, trolling, dogpiling, and cyberbullying. But, more to the point, his public persona (perhaps, personality) intersects the effective exploitation of these tools. In other words, our digital media encourages a much more dangerous form of politics than the digital democracy we were promised.

As the hope went, through decentralization and user generated discussion and prioritization, a grassroots politics would pushback against the entrenched interests of old institutions (Benkler, 2006). The people would no longer have to go through the gatekeepers of Big Media, but rather, could organize and inform themselves about the world and appropriate action. When political discussions first began online, the vile and uncivil comments section was a shock. Justifications quickly arose: perhaps, this was a necessary evil of a free society; and, now the latent racism/sexism/homophobia cannot be ignored. But, there was little fear that these comments represented the future of our politics. Through analyzing Trump’s campaign rhetoric in his rallies and debates, I argue that Trump is the embodiment of these uncivil and anonymous comments. The Internet made his discourse acceptable, normal, and, even desirable. He has become, in fact, our Commenter-in-Chief.

Benkler, Y. (2006). The wealth of networks: How social production transforms markets and freedom. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

Taylor, A. (2014). The people’s platform: Taking back power and culture in the digital age. New York: Metropolitan Books.

Location

Coastal Georgia Center

Start Date

2-25-2017 2:35 PM

End Date

2-25-2017 4:05 PM

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Feb 25th, 2:35 PM Feb 25th, 4:05 PM

The Commenter in Chief: Trump and the Political Economy of the Internet

Coastal Georgia Center

With Trump’s election to the presidency, there can be no denying that digital media was used in new ways in our elections. Web 2.0 moved us from a static e-commerce environment to a more interactive and social environment (Taylor, 2014). Likewise, Trump’s campaign moved us from discussing individual donations online to a larger and more social (or anti-social) use of Internet tools: Twitter, Breitbart, and Wikileaks, and fake news. The Trump campaign exploited the worst forms of social relationships exposed on the Internet – flaming, trolling, dogpiling, and cyberbullying. But, more to the point, his public persona (perhaps, personality) intersects the effective exploitation of these tools. In other words, our digital media encourages a much more dangerous form of politics than the digital democracy we were promised.

As the hope went, through decentralization and user generated discussion and prioritization, a grassroots politics would pushback against the entrenched interests of old institutions (Benkler, 2006). The people would no longer have to go through the gatekeepers of Big Media, but rather, could organize and inform themselves about the world and appropriate action. When political discussions first began online, the vile and uncivil comments section was a shock. Justifications quickly arose: perhaps, this was a necessary evil of a free society; and, now the latent racism/sexism/homophobia cannot be ignored. But, there was little fear that these comments represented the future of our politics. Through analyzing Trump’s campaign rhetoric in his rallies and debates, I argue that Trump is the embodiment of these uncivil and anonymous comments. The Internet made his discourse acceptable, normal, and, even desirable. He has become, in fact, our Commenter-in-Chief.

Benkler, Y. (2006). The wealth of networks: How social production transforms markets and freedom. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

Taylor, A. (2014). The people’s platform: Taking back power and culture in the digital age. New York: Metropolitan Books.