Expressions of authoritarianism in Facebook before the salience of news about crime in Peru

Abstract

Under a context of public insecurity, the present study aims to analyse comments expressed in news about criminal acts published on the web pages of the main national newspapers during 2015. Comments were subject to content analysis and two analytical axes identified: (a) The expression of authoritarian beliefs and the implications of these beliefs for perceptions of offenders, and (b) a lack of trust in the public institutions of justice and its link with authoritarian response to criminality. The analysis of comments reveals a strong tendency towards endorsements of violent actions in dealing with crime supported by an authoritarian ideology. It was also found that distrust in the public institutions of justice is linked to support for extreme measures in order to eliminate the perceived threat. Limitations and suggestions for further research are discussed.