Journal article
When everyone is laughing at anti-Asian meme: the effects of disparagement meme and social (dis)approval on acceptance of prejudice and support for Asian minority
The review of communication, Vol.25(2), pp.78-90
04/03/2025
DOI: 10.1080/15358593.2025.2461070
Abstract
Minority groups are often subjected to disparagement and blame for various societal issues including unemployment, health crises, and terrorism. This disparagement is sometimes conveyed not through overt hate speech but through humor, particularly in memes, which serve to demean, humiliate, or mock others. Guided by prejudiced norm theory and affective disposition theory of humor, this study examined the effects of exposure to disparaging memes targeting Asian minority groups and user comments on social media on the acceptance of prejudice, support for Asian minority groups, and the intention to share disparaging content. The findings revealed that exposure to disparaging memes led to higher levels of acceptance of prejudice toward Asian minorities and increased the likelihood of sharing disparaging content. However, these disparagement memes did not significantly influence support for Asian minority groups. Additionally, user comments endorsing disparagement were found to increase the acceptance of prejudice, increase intentions to share such content, and decrease the support for minority groups compared to comments that disapproved of the disparagement. Moreover, prior negative attitudes toward Asian minorities moderated the relationship between exposure to disparaging memes and the acceptance of prejudice, with those holding stronger negative attitudes showing greater acceptance of prejudice when exposed to such memes.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- When everyone is laughing at anti-Asian meme: the effects of disparagement meme and social (dis)approval on acceptance of prejudice and support for Asian minority
- Creators
- Bingbing Zhang - University of Iowa
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- The review of communication, Vol.25(2), pp.78-90
- DOI
- 10.1080/15358593.2025.2461070
- ISSN
- 1535-8593
- eISSN
- 1535-8593
- Language
- English
- Electronic publication date
- 02/19/2025
- Date published
- 04/03/2025
- Academic Unit
- Center for Social Science Innovation; School of Journalism and Mass Communication
- Record Identifier
- 9984795373202771
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