Dog whistle politics is a tactic where politicians use coded language to target specific groups without alerting the general public. It originated in Australia in the 1990s and has since spread to other countries. Examples include religious references and veiled racist terms. Political commentators and websites can help expose these tactics.
Dog whistle politics is a form of political rhetoric in which coded language is used, thus ensuring that a message reaches a target audience without making the general public aware of the specific content of the message. Much like a dog whistle, which is only audible to ears that can hear sounds at a certain frequency, whistle politics often slips below the radar of the average citizen, allowing politicians to target certain groups of the electorate with a very specific language.
This term originated in Australia in the 1990s when immigration was a hot topic in elections. Several politicians have been accused of using code terms to refer to immigration issues, making sure they come across as hard-line towards conservatives without offending people of more liberal leanings. In 2003, the term was used in Great Britain and in 2005 it reached the United States.
One of the most common forms of dog whistle policy in the United States is the use of religious references by members of the religious right. For Americans unfamiliar with the Bible, these references may go completely unnoticed, while devout Christians pick up on these references and assume that it means the politician stands by their values. Biblical references have been used to promote crackdowns on illegal immigration, to support wars, and to encourage the pro-life agenda, all without alerting members of the general public.
Dog whistling, as it’s known, can also include veiled racist terms that are picked up by people who are listening to it, but ignored by people who aren’t listening carefully. Such terms can be used to enforce messages about being firm on immigration policy or social issues. Even subtle turns of phrase and references to history can be involved in dog whistle politics, relying on the distinct cultural knowledge of different political groups to get the message across.
Luckily for people who want to be aware of political issues, whistle blower politics are often expounded by political commentators and on websites that follow politics. After hearing a politician’s speech, it is usually easy to find a transcript and analysis of that transcript that distinguishes the use of code phrases to illustrate the hidden meaning behind the speech. For people who are less politically aware, however, whistleblowing politics can lead them to unknowingly support candidates with views that may be a little more complicated than they appear on the surface.
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