Metaphor is more than a literary device. It is a fundamental cognitive ability that drives the capacity to reason about state and actions in the world. Metaphor—which involves under- standing of abstract concepts in terms of more basic ones—permeates political discourse. Its ubiquity is evident in the frequent use of statements such as “It’s time to drain the swamp”, “Obama sprinted toward victory on Election Day”, and “Trump attacks Jeff Sessions over Russian probe methods”. No one is releasing water, running, or causing physical harm. How is metaphor- ical violence expressed, for instance, expressions with words such as “attack”, “slaughter”, and “hit”, and how does it influence political thought and communication? Here, we describe novel time-resolved observations and explanatory dynamical models of the use of metaphorical violence language in political discourse on U.S. cable television news in the period leading up to the two most recent presidential elections. Our results quantify the details and dynamics of the use of these metaphors, revealing how cable news shows act as reporters, promoters, expectation-setters, and ideological agents in different degrees in response to differing cultural situations. Our work has implications for shaping political discourse and influencing political attitudes.
Audience Perception of Credibility of Indigenous Cable Television News Network in Nigeria
