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Article published In:
Fifty years of agenda-setting research: Volume I
Edited by Chris J. Vargo
[The Agenda Setting Journal 2:2] 2018
► pp. 124–144

Agendamelding and out-group derogation

Examining how aggregated content can be used to prove in-group membership

| Georgia Southern University
| Georgia Southern University

This study is a mixed-method quantitative and qualitative content analysis that examined the overlapping presence of agendamelding theory and in-group out-group formation on the social media platform Reddit. The study looked at the top 10 posts for one month (n = 310) on the pro-Donald Trump subreddit /r/The_Donald. The results show that media choice was used to prove membership to the in-group, often by derogating the media used by the out-group. Specific patterns emerged within the derogative language as well. Links to left-wing and neutral news media sites were often commented on and criticized, while the content of the linked news article was ignored or changed. Right-wing news media sites, which were used as news sources rather than commentary, were typically posted without changes, unlike neutral news media sites, which were often posted in a mocking manner. As agendamelding suggests, participants sought to avoid dissonance by posting media to fit within the community.

Keywords: agendamelding, in-group out-group, social media, reddit, digital communities, content analysis
Article outline
  • Review of literature
    • Agendamelding theory
    • In-group out-group formation
    • Reddit
  • Methodology
  • Results
    • Quantitative
  • Qualitative
    • Frame 1: Changed angle
    • Frame 2: Outlet talked about
    • Frame 3: Derogation as news
    • Frame 4: Outsourced derogation
    • Frame 5: Derogative meme
    • Frame 6: News as news
  • Conclusion
  • Discussion
  • References
Published online: 13 November 2018
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/asj.18017.ril
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