In this study, I investigated the relationship between post-truth rhetoric and popular social media posts made by public figures during the 2024 United States presidential election. I focused on which topics and posts received the most or least engagement during the election, and theorized whether post-truth rhetoric impacted the popularity of the posts. In my results, I found that the effectiveness of post-truth rhetoric varied by the political topic it was addressing. The results of this study conclude that post-truth rhetoric is not always inherently unethical. Further, studying post-truth rhetoric for the purpose of understanding why it is used and why it is effective for specific audiences allows the field of rhetoric to gain more insight into how people’s beliefs and concerns affect their decisions.
","abstract_html":"<p>In this study, I investigated the relationship between post-truth rhetoric and popular social media posts made by public figures during the 2024 United States presidential election. I focused on which topics and posts received the most or least engagement during the election, and theorized whether post-truth rhetoric impacted the popularity of the posts. In my results, I found that the effectiveness of post-truth rhetoric varied by the political topic it was addressing. The results of this study conclude that post-truth rhetoric is not always inherently unethical. Further, studying post-truth rhetoric for the purpose of understanding why it is used and why it is effective for specific audiences allows the field of rhetoric to gain more insight into how people’s beliefs and concerns affect their decisions.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Thomas, Emi"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts (MA)","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"English","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Nora Rivera","Ian Barnard","Aurora Matzke"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-05-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2025-05-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:38:43Z","subjects":["social media","post-truth rhetoric","rhetoric","election","rhetoric and composition"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/english_theses/84","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Nora Rivera","Ian Barnard","Aurora Matzke"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Thomas, Emi"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["English"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (MA)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["social media","post-truth rhetoric","rhetoric","election","rhetoric and composition"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/english_theses/84"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["In this study, I investigated the relationship between post-truth rhetoric and popular social media posts made by public figures during the 2024 United States presidential election. I focused on which topics and posts received the most or least engagement during the election, and theorized whether post-truth rhetoric impacted the popularity of the posts. In my results, I found that the effectiveness of post-truth rhetoric varied by the political topic it was addressing. The results of this study conclude that post-truth rhetoric is not always inherently unethical. Further, studying post-truth rhetoric for the purpose of understanding why it is used and why it is effective for specific audiences allows the field of rhetoric to gain more insight into how people’s beliefs and concerns affect their decisions.
"]},{"key":"dc:source","label":"Dc Source","values":["Thomas, Emi. Post-Truth Rhetoric and Its Correlation to Social Media in the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election. 2025. Chapman University, MA Thesis. Chapman University Digital Commons,https://doi.org/10.36837/chapman.000651"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Post-Truth Rhetoric and Its Correlation to Social Media in the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Nora Rivera","Ian Barnard","Aurora Matzke"],"dc:creator":["Thomas, Emi"],"dc:description.abstract":["In this study, I investigated the relationship between post-truth rhetoric and popular social media posts made by public figures during the 2024 United States presidential election. I focused on which topics and posts received the most or least engagement during the election, and theorized whether post-truth rhetoric impacted the popularity of the posts. In my results, I found that the effectiveness of post-truth rhetoric varied by the political topic it was addressing. The results of this study conclude that post-truth rhetoric is not always inherently unethical. Further, studying post-truth rhetoric for the purpose of understanding why it is used and why it is effective for specific audiences allows the field of rhetoric to gain more insight into how people’s beliefs and concerns affect their decisions.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/english_theses/84"],"dc:source":["Thomas, Emi. Post-Truth Rhetoric and Its Correlation to Social Media in the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election. 2025. Chapman University, MA Thesis. Chapman University Digital Commons,https://doi.org/10.36837/chapman.000651"],"dc:subject":["social media","post-truth rhetoric","rhetoric","election","rhetoric and composition"],"dc:title":["Post-Truth Rhetoric and Its Correlation to Social Media in the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["English"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts (MA)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:38:43Z"}