The (Re)surgence of Sinophobia in the Australian Far-Right: Online Racism, Social Media, and the Weaponization of COVID-19

Article / Journal

Author(s):
Kurt Sengul

Year: 2024

Journal of Intercultural Studies

Keywords: COVID-19, far-right, online racism, critical discourse analysis, Sinophobia
Language(s): English

Abstract:
In this article I critically examine the role of the Australian far-right in the racialisation of the COVID-19 pandemic. A Discourse-Historical Analysis of (n = 133) Facebook posts from Australia’s most prominent far-right populist party, Pauline Hanson’s One Nation, revealed a range of discursive strategies, linguistic and rhetorical devices, and multimodal semiotic practices were employed to scapegoat China and Chinese-Australians throughout the pandemic. The findings highlight the unique role played by the Australian far-right in the racialisation of the health crisis which engendered a wave of Sinophobic and anti-Asian racism on a global scale. This research furthers our empirical understanding of how crises are exploited by the far-right to advance their racial politics in the twenty-first century.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07256868.2024.2345624

Post created by: Lymor Wolf Goldstein