THREAD: On May 7 Breitbart published this article on @donaldglover’s video for “This is America”. The article quickly turned into a rallying cry for white nationalists in the comment section. 1/
@slpng_giants
@slpng_giants
The article was actually a second try on the subject. A few hours earlier, Breitbart published a much more conservative headline and photo. Not entirely surprising that the article was revamped to reflect a clear dog-whistle and encourage engagement. 2/
From this article, I collected about 200 comments that @Disqus would consider “targeted harassment” in their Basic Rules. Still after 17 months, no action has been taken to hold Breitbart accountable. help.disqus.com/terms-and-poli… 3/
The most noticeable comments were those that brandished racial slurs. Misspellings are common and intentional in an attempt to bypass censors. 4/
Some are less concerned than others... 5/
Another common misspelling is the word “negro”. Again, clearly derogatory. 6/
Others used the dog-whistle as an opportunity to further divide the community along racial barriers by asserting white supremacist ideologies. 7/
Frequently found in comments below Breitbart articles that feature African Americans is a dehumanizing comparison to apes or primates. Suggesting that black people are of a different species. 8/
I’ve noted this comparison in the past. 9/
Dozens of other comments referred to African Americans as “savages”, referenced “low IQ” (a favorite among white supremacists), and suggested a return to segregation. 10/
The most alarming comments that I found were the ones that displayed their anger through threats of violence. 11/
Still, despite all of the comments to the contrary, there were some who insisted the video and the rapper were racist and promoting hate speech. 12/
As the author of the article, and African American, I’d be curious to hear @JeromeEHudson’s thoughts on the comments below his article. Is this “free thought”? Because it looks an awful lot like propaganda. /End
