The Language Politicians And The Media Use To Describe The Orlando Shooting

By Worldview
President Barack Obama speaks at the Treasury Department in Washington, Tuesday, June 14, 2016, following a meeting with his National Security Council, to get updates on the investigation into the attack in Orlando, Florida and review efforts to degrade and destroy ISIL.
President Barack Obama speaks at the Treasury Department in Washington following a meeting with his National Security Council, to get updates on the investigation into the attack in Orlando, Florida and review efforts to degrade and destroy ISIL. Susan Walsh / AP Photo
President Barack Obama speaks at the Treasury Department in Washington, Tuesday, June 14, 2016, following a meeting with his National Security Council, to get updates on the investigation into the attack in Orlando, Florida and review efforts to degrade and destroy ISIL.
President Barack Obama speaks at the Treasury Department in Washington following a meeting with his National Security Council, to get updates on the investigation into the attack in Orlando, Florida and review efforts to degrade and destroy ISIL. Susan Walsh / AP Photo

The Language Politicians And The Media Use To Describe The Orlando Shooting

By Worldview
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In his speech yesterday, President Obama said that he has been criticized for not using the term “radical Islam. He went on to say “ the reason I am careful about how I describe this threat has nothing to do with political correctness and everything to do with actually defeating extremism.” 

In their speeches about the Orlando shooting, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump referred to “radical” Islam and Islamism.

We take a look at the debate surrounding the phrase “radical Islam” and examine the kind of language the news media has used to describe the Orlando mass shooting with Ahmed Rehab, the executive director of the Chicago office of the Council of American-Islamic Relations and George Lakoff, a professor of cognitive linguistics at the University of California, Berkeley.