A Discourse Analysis on the Management and Non-Management of Online Prejudice on the Grounds of Religion
Abstract
Research into the management of online prejudice is limited, and even more so when the
prejudice is based on religion. This study utilizes discursive psychology practices to explore the
way in which prejudice because of religion is negotiated and managed in the comment sections
of YouTube. A YouTube channel called the Nothing but the Truth Zone was selected after some
general research due to the high number of prejudice occurring in their comment threads and
micro and macro discourse analysis was used to examine the selected excerpts. Results found
that responses to religious prejudice was largely sarcastic or aggressive, and in some cases the
prejudiced comments allowed for further, more extreme prejudiced views to be shared. This,
however, cannot be held as conclusive evidence for the way that prejudice is negotiated and
managed on YouTube due to the small scale of this study and the vast amounts of data available
for analysis on YouTube.