EMOTIONAL WEAPONS AND MANUFACTURING THE ENEMY: A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF BIDEN’S POST-TRUTH WAR RHETORIC

Sohaib Alwaheidi

doi:10.54688/ayd.1738101

EN TR

EMOTIONAL WEAPONS AND MANUFACTURING THE ENEMY: A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF BIDEN’S POST-TRUTH WAR RHETORIC

Öz

The power of speech and language play a major role when they are used by strong leaders and prominent news outlets. This paper investigates the speeches of the US president Joe Biden about the war on Gaza after the Hamas attack on October 7th, 2023. The paper illustrates that Biden used post-truth politics and emotionally charged discourse in order to shape the public opinions and keep the military actions against Gaza going. Emotionally charged phrases such as “beheaded babies”, despite being unverified, provoke moral outrage and anger against Hamas’ attack. The paper takes Teun A. van Dijk’s socio-cognitive approach to Critical Discourse Analysis to reveal how Biden’s language excludes Palestinian realities, brands dissent as illegitimate, and relies on an “us vs. them” perspective which systematically closes down alternative narratives. We found out that not only Biden but global media appear to legitimize military actions against the Palestinians using a claim that has never been verified. We concluded that the emotionally charged language, as a key characteristic of post-truth politics, is a more reliable source of information than objective truths.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Critical Discourse Analysis, Post-Truth Politics, Israel-Palestine Conflict

DUYGUSAL SİLAHLAR VE DÜŞMAN İNŞASI: BİDEN’IN HAKİKAT SONRASI SAVAŞ SÖYLEMİNİN ELEŞTİREL SÖYLEM ANALİZİ

Öz

Güçlü liderler ve önde gelen haber kuruluşları tarafından kullanıldığında, dil ve söylemin gücü büyük bir rol oynar. Bu çalışma, ABD Başkanı Joe Biden’ın 7 Ekim 2023 tarihinde gerçekleşen Hamas saldırısı sonrasında Gazze’ye yönelik savaş hakkında yaptığı konuşmaları incelemektedir. Çalışma, Biden’ın kamuoyunu şekillendirmek ve Gazze’ye karşı askeri operasyonları sürdürmek için hakikat ötesi siyaset ve duygusal söylemleri kullandığını ortaya koymaktadır. Doğruluğu teyit edilmemiş olmasına rağmen, “başı kesilmiş bebekler” gibi duygusal açıdan yüklü ifadeler, Hamas’ın saldırısına karşı ahlaki bir öfkeyi ve kızgınlığı tetiklemektedir. Çalışma, Teun A. van Dijk’ın sosyo-bilişsel eleştirel söylem analizi yaklaşımını kullanarak Biden’ın dilinin Filistin gerçekliklerini dışladığını, muhalefeti gayrimeşru olarak damgaladığını ve sistematik biçimde alternatif anlatıları ortadan kaldıran bir "biz ve onlar" perspektifine dayandığını ortaya koymaktadır. Yalnızca Biden’ın değil, küresel medyanın da Filistinlilere karşı askeri eylemleri meşrulaştırmak için asla doğrulanmamış bir iddiayı kullandığı sonucuna ulaşılmıştır. Sonuç olarak, hakikat ötesi siyasetin temel özelliği olan duygusal söylemlerin, nesnel gerçeklerden daha etkili ve güvenilir bir bilgi kaynağı haline geldiği belirtilmiştir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Eleştirel Söylem Analizi, Hakikat Ötesi Siyaset, İsrail-Filistin Çatışması

Kaynakça

Al Jazeera. (2023, November 15). Biden ‘wholly responsible’ for Israeli operation in Gaza hospital: Hamas. Al Jazeera. Retrieved February 27, 2025, from https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/15/biden-wholly-responsible-for-israelioperation-in-gaza-hospital-hamas
Al Jazeera. (2023, October 12). White House walks back Biden’s claim he saw children ‘beheaded’ by Hamas. Retrieved February 24, 2025, from https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/12/white-house-walks-back-bidens-claim-he-sawchildren-beheaded-by-hamas
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Ayrıntılar

Birincil Dil

İngilizce

Konular

Ortadoğu Çalışmaları

Bölüm

Araştırma Makalesi

Yazarlar

Sohaib Alwaheidi ^*
0000-0001-6198-0303
Palestine

Yayımlanma Tarihi

10 Haziran 2026

Gönderilme Tarihi

8 Temmuz 2025

Kabul Tarihi

16 Mart 2026

Yayımlandığı Sayı

Yıl 2026 Cilt: 17

DOI

https://doi.org/10.54688/ayd.1738101

IZ

https://izlik.org/JA54HM65KZ

APA

Alwaheidi, S. (2026). EMOTIONAL WEAPONS AND MANUFACTURING THE ENEMY: A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF BIDEN’S POST-TRUTH WAR RHETORIC. Journal of Academic Approaches, 17, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.54688/ayd.1738101

AMA

1.Alwaheidi S. EMOTIONAL WEAPONS AND MANUFACTURING THE ENEMY: A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF BIDEN’S POST-TRUTH WAR RHETORIC. Journal of Academic Approaches. 2026;17:1-13. doi:10.54688/ayd.1738101

Chicago

Alwaheidi, Sohaib. 2026. “EMOTIONAL WEAPONS AND MANUFACTURING THE ENEMY: A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF BIDEN’S POST-TRUTH WAR RHETORIC”. Journal of Academic Approaches 17 (Haziran): 1-13. https://doi.org/10.54688/ayd.1738101.

EndNote

Alwaheidi S (01 Haziran 2026) EMOTIONAL WEAPONS AND MANUFACTURING THE ENEMY: A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF BIDEN’S POST-TRUTH WAR RHETORIC. Journal of Academic Approaches 17 1–13.

IEEE

[1]S. Alwaheidi, “EMOTIONAL WEAPONS AND MANUFACTURING THE ENEMY: A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF BIDEN’S POST-TRUTH WAR RHETORIC”, Journal of Academic Approaches, c. 17, ss. 1–13, Haz. 2026, doi: 10.54688/ayd.1738101.

ISNAD

Alwaheidi, Sohaib. “EMOTIONAL WEAPONS AND MANUFACTURING THE ENEMY: A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF BIDEN’S POST-TRUTH WAR RHETORIC”. Journal of Academic Approaches 17 (01 Haziran 2026): 1-13. https://doi.org/10.54688/ayd.1738101.

JAMA

1.Alwaheidi S. EMOTIONAL WEAPONS AND MANUFACTURING THE ENEMY: A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF BIDEN’S POST-TRUTH WAR RHETORIC. Journal of Academic Approaches. 2026;17:1–13.

MLA

Alwaheidi, Sohaib. “EMOTIONAL WEAPONS AND MANUFACTURING THE ENEMY: A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF BIDEN’S POST-TRUTH WAR RHETORIC”. Journal of Academic Approaches, c. 17, Haziran 2026, ss. 1-13, doi:10.54688/ayd.1738101.

Vancouver

1.Sohaib Alwaheidi. EMOTIONAL WEAPONS AND MANUFACTURING THE ENEMY: A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF BIDEN’S POST-TRUTH WAR RHETORIC. Journal of Academic Approaches. 01 Haziran 2026;17:1-13. doi:10.54688/ayd.1738101

EMOTIONAL WEAPONS AND MANUFACTURING THE ENEMY: A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF BIDEN’S POST-TRUTH WAR RHETORIC

Öz

Anahtar Kelimeler

DUYGUSAL SİLAHLAR VE DÜŞMAN İNŞASI: BİDEN’IN HAKİKAT SONRASI SAVAŞ SÖYLEMİNİN ELEŞTİREL SÖYLEM ANALİZİ

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