Discursive shifts and the normalisation of hate speech: Chinese Muslims in Chinese and American newspapers (2001–2024)

This paper examines how hate speech towards Chinese Muslims is constructed in Chinese and American broadsheets. The analysis encompasses 6336 articles (5.4 million words) published between 2001 and 2024. It employs a combination of discursive shifts theory, BiCHAT detection and LLM-assisted corpus-based discourse analysis to uncover patterns in the media coverage. Findings reveal that Chinese outlets showed higher hate speech probabilities targeting specific subgroups, while American newspapers portrayed Chinese Muslims monolithically. Both weaponised the concepts of violence and terrorism alongside nationally distinct topoi. Probabilities declined until 2014, then resurged in Chinese newspapers, while peaking in 2016 before decreasing in American outlets. These differences reflected distinct topoi usage across three discursive shifts. Chinese newspapers shifted from security threats to social impacts and, finally, to institutional measures. American outlets progressed from ethnic othering to sociopolitical burden to active threat. This study demonstrates the nexus between discriminatory discourse and China’s stability maintenance policies.