University of Twente Student Theses
Political disinformation: A closer look at the use of rhetoric and fallacies of a Dutch populist party regarding the Russo Ukrainian war
Brandsma, L.K. (2023) Political disinformation: A closer look at the use of rhetoric and fallacies of a Dutch populist party regarding the Russo Ukrainian war.
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| Abstract: | In the light of political disinformation, this research aims to provide insights into the discourse of the Dutch political party Forum voor Democratie (FVD) regarding the war in Ukraine by researching rhetorical strategies and fallacies. Even though there is a varied focus on political disinformation in literature, as it poses a threat to democracy, there seems to be limited research available on populist rhetoric including fallacies in this context. By researching one specific populist party and taking into account an extensive list of fallacies in qualitative research, the implicit interpretation of deceiving information can be discovered more extensively. The up-to-date conflict contains relevance for the Dutch interest and its impact on public perceptions. A textual qualitative content analysis of tweets and YouTube videos was conducted through the use of ATLAS.ti. This included statements disseminated by members of FVD and on behalf of the party, for one year since the start of the war in Ukraine in November 2021. The search terms ‘Oekraïne’ or ‘Rusland’ were included in the title or description of the videos and in the tweets. The results revealed that the prevalent themes were about the interferences of the West, judgments of FVD on the war, and references regarding events in the past. This was conveyed by the pathos rhetoric most often, which showed sympathy for the citizens as well as an aggressive communication style towards the Dutch government. Logical arguments also occurred frequently– or the appearance of, as multiple fallacies were identified. The three most prevalent were the straw man, the ad populum/pathetical fallacy, and the fallacy of casting suspicion, in which arguments were distorted, conveyed by rhetoric instead of reason, and casted suspicion on others. This study confirms the findings of populists’ frequent use of pathos rhetoric and fallacies, through which forms of disinformation were detected regarding conspiracy and propaganda-related content. |
| Item Type: | Essay (Master) |
| Faculty: | BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences |
| Subject: | 05 communication studies |
| Programme: | Communication Studies MSc (60713) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/94693 |
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