About Inflammatory Words:

Inflammatory Words, especially used on social media, serve primarily to provoke strong emotional responses rather than to advance coherent arguments. Such language often includes buzzwords, dog whistles, slurs, or epithets that are calculated to trigger particular groups or individuals. By employing Inflammatory Words, issuers aim to rile up their allies while alienating the opposition.

This tactic exploits the brevity and immediacy of social media, where a single loaded term can provoke widespread reaction and overshadow a topic’s nuance. While the issuer receives immediate gratification through “likes” “shares” and comments on the post, the broader effect deepens divisions and reduces the likelihood dialogue will be constructive. People on all sides use inflammatory words, from “fascist” and “racist” to “SJW” and “soyboy,” to quickly rally in-group members and alienate people who may have been attempting reasonable discussion.

Inflammatory Words can appear in discussions on a range of topics but are notably frequent in debates about social issues, deployed when emotions are already high. This tactic perpetuates stereotypes, including harmful ones, and contributes to the demonization of the other side. Because these words are so emotionally charged, they can elicit a strong emotional reaction in people receiving them.

Asking the issuer to explain what they mean by a term can potentially unveil a misunderstanding or a lack of substance behind their stance. For example, the word “fascist” has a specific meaning, and someone using it online may not fully understand it. Discussing what it means may lead the issuer to clarify their argument or choose a different word.

New inflammatory terms appear on social media over time. How inflammatory each is can depend the specific context. Here are a few more from recent years:

• Libtard
• Globalist
• Propaganda
• Police State
• Nanny State
• Virtue Signalling
• Troll
• Snowflake
• Deep State
• Sheeple
• Social Justice Warrior
• NPC (Non-Playable Character)