麻豆影院

CU 麻豆影院 prof warned of violence fueled by Trump鈥檚 viral lies years ago

Carole McGranahan, professor of cultural anthropology at the 麻豆影院, may not be a soothsayer, but just months into Donald J. Trump鈥檚 presidential term, she warned that his rhetoric, amplified by the social media platform Twitter, might result in not just division, but outright violence.

Trump鈥檚 well-documented penchant for lying, she argued, was creating 鈥渁ffiliative truths,鈥� alternate realities around which people were building communities.

鈥淭he sociality of lies brings people together, but in so doing, distances others,鈥� she wrote in 鈥�,鈥� published in the May 2017 issue of American Ethnologist. 鈥淎f铿乴iative truths need not always be violent. But when they mark others as fearsome, af铿乴iation to groups can bring violence. Is this the future of Trump鈥檚 America? Will such lie-fueled violence become normalized?鈥�

Fast forward to the burgeoning days of 2021. For more than two months, Trump has refused to acknowledge that he lost the Nov. 3 presidential election to Democrat Joe Biden and, he has continually stirred up supporters with claims鈥攎ostly on Twitter鈥攖hat the election was 鈥渟tolen.鈥� His attorneys have filed more than 60 lawsuits protesting various aspects of the election; all but one conceding a minor point were summarily dismissed.听

And as Congress moved toward a Jan. 6 session to certify the election results, the president continually hammered away at the idea that his supporters should come to Washington, D.C. in a last-ditch effort to have him installed for a second term. In a live rally that day, Trump urged thousands of supporters to march on the capitol: 鈥淵ou'll never take back our country with weakness, you have to show strength.鈥�

Just over an hour later, the president鈥檚 partisans overran police barriers and smashed through windows to occupy the U.S. Capitol building for the next four hours.听

Some wore outlandish costumes or body paint, while others sported T-shirts proclaiming Jan. 6 as the start of a civil war or feature literal Nazi messages such as 鈥�6MWE鈥濃�攆or 鈥渟ix million weren鈥檛 enough,鈥� referring to lives lost in the Holocaust. Others carried Confederate flags; one tore down a U.S. flag and replaced it with a Trump flag. Some destroyed equipment belonging to the Associated Press, while others vandalized and stole from congressional offices, or lounged mockingly at desks and rostrums, taking selfies.

鈥淚 can hardly believe what is happening at the Capitol right now and yet at the same time it is exactly what I've been writing about,鈥� McGranahan wrote in an email. 鈥淪till, so unreal, distressing and frightening.鈥�

Though McGranahan鈥檚 academic focus is contemporary Tibet, she has gotten attention in recent years for her examinations of the Trump phenomena, including his use of Twitter, through the lens of anthropology.听

Her of Trump鈥檚 rhetoric 鈥渆xplains why nothing seem(s) to matter for Trump鈥檚 supporters,鈥� Mar铆a Morato-Bermejo writes in a November 2020 piece in The Paris Globalist. 鈥淭hrough his political lies, McGranahan writes, Trump creates new realities and denies historical reality, and provides the narratives his base wants to hear.鈥澨�

Twitter has been foundational to Trump鈥檚 ability to spread his lies far and wide.

鈥淭witter, more so than Facebook or any other platform, is responsible for amplifying Donald Trump鈥檚 voice,鈥� McGrahanan says. 鈥淭witter has bent over backwards to make it possible for Trump to say whatever he wants to say. 鈥� It has provided him a platform on which he can speak to the world, but also has continually found ways to say his tweets are 鈥榟istoric,鈥� and therefore protected.鈥�

And much of what Trump has communicated via Twitter has been 鈥渄og whistles鈥� in which he defines the 鈥渙ther鈥� and often encourages his supporters to act on his behalf, she says.

鈥淭witter has become a key site for the conversion of Trump鈥檚 lies to social truths as well as to political action,鈥� she wrote in 鈥�,鈥� published in 2019 by the International Journal of Communication. 鈥淚f as ethnographic space, Twitter is a site of cultures in formation, then as public archive, Twitter is a site of history unfolding.鈥�

Although she no longer uses Twitter, McGranahan doesn鈥檛 deny that it has many benefits. She used it primarily as a way to connect with professional colleagues.

But Twitter鈥檚 structure and algorithms make it particularly susceptible to 鈥渧irality,鈥� sending information rapidly around the world, accurate or not, dangerous or not.听

鈥淧eople like the fast-paced aspect, and being in the know. We see that now being replicated in the QAnon stuff鈥濃�攖he online-generated, ever-growing conspiracy theory claiming that Trump is secretly battling a world-wide cabal of Satan-worshiping baby eaters. 鈥淚t gives people access to knowledge they feel other people don鈥檛 have, building a community around being one of 鈥榠nsiders,鈥欌�� McGranahan says.

Although just 22 percent of American adults Twitter, and just 42 percent of them use it daily鈥攁 total of less than 10 percent of the population鈥攚hat happens on the platform often assumes an outsized role in media and politics.

鈥淭witter makes what is actually a small community, a small world, seem like the world,鈥� McGranahan says.听

She says it鈥檚 no surprise that Trump has been an enthusiastic Twitter user, even before he announced his 2016 presidential run.听

The platform appeals to 鈥減eople without a strong sense of confidence who are looking for external validation,鈥� she says. 鈥淭rump is a man of ego, and Twitter is all about how many people follow him, how many retweets he gets. He can audit his cult of personality through the numbers.鈥澨�

Since 2016, Trump has transformed the way Twitter is used by politicians, and by extension, their followers. Where elected officials once used tweets for such mundane things as communicating their accomplishments or congratulating constituents, Trump has wielded it as a weapon to attack 鈥渢he other鈥� and create an insulated, adoring community.

鈥淭rump鈥檚 Twitter feed narrates (a) story using language that speaks to his far-right base,鈥� McGranahan writes. 鈥淚t is a story of class and status. It is a story of resentment, frustration, outsider success, and a desire for change.鈥�

And while many of those not in his thrall are appalled by Trump鈥檚 lies, divisiveness and incitement, his 鈥渓ies and his relentless dismissal of facts make him seem authentic to his followers.鈥�

Although McGranahan foresaw that Trump鈥檚 use of Twitter could result in something like Jan. 6, she saw something disturbingly different among Trump supporters who broke into and trashed the capitol.听

鈥淭he hate, anger and resentment, that鈥檚 all language we鈥檝e seen before,鈥� she says. 鈥淏ut one thing I saw (on Jan. 6) was contempt, in a new way. Contempt for the system, for mainstream media, for anything that goes against what they believed and wanted to be true,鈥� she says.

鈥淭rump specializes in the 鈥榓spirational lie,鈥� dangling what he wants to be true out there as if it is true. It becomes an 鈥榓ffiliative truth鈥� around which community is created. That emboldens people. Now they have not just 鈥榯he truth,鈥� but a group of people with whom they can act on it.鈥�

Note: Three hours after the above conversation took place, Twitter permanently banned Donald Trump from using the platform.