Abstract:
The Internet is becoming increasingly important in America as millions of Americans go on-line each year. Although the Internet provides valuable business and educational information, it contains the ideology of hundreds of hate groups as well. Because the Internet is becoming such an important medium, it is essential to understand the types of rhetoric used in Web pages.This study explores the use of propaganda by the Ku Klux Klan in its Web site. This study first delineates the Ku Klux Klan's history and current activities. It also explains the Klan's Web site and the site's key features. The essay then examines the White Nationalist Movement and the importance of persuasion to the movement itself and groups within the movement, such as the Ku Klux Klan. Finally, the study analyzes the tactics of propaganda evident in the Klan's Web site. This study serves to provide valuable information about the propagandistic rhetoric used by hate groups such as the Ku Klux Klan to spread their ideology and recruit members on the Internet.
