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New Study: Conservative Talk Radio Spreads Hate

A study released today by the National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC) and UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center (CSRC) found that conservative talk radio shows contribute to “hate speech” against  racial, religious groups and the LGBT community on social media networks. The study, entitled “Social Networks for Hate Speech,” analyzed the role that five prominent conservative talk radio shows play in spreading hate speech on social websites. It examined the guests, topics and content on

Limbaugh
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1.  The Rush Limbaugh Show

2.  The Sean Hannity Show

3.  The Glenn Beck Program

4.  The Savage Nation

5.  The John and Ken Show.

This study analyzes how social networks that form around the hosts of commercial talk radio shows can propagate messages targeting vulnerable groups. Working with recorded broadcasts from five shows gathered over a six-week period,ics, researchers determined hosts’ and guests’ ideological alignment on the topics discussed most frequently — including immigration and terrorism — through analysis of on-air statements and website content. The findings reveal that the hosts promoted an insular discourse that focused on, for example, anti-immigration, anti-Islam, and pro-Tea Party positions and that this discourse found repetition and amplification through social media.

KJ

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