Today I came across a term introduced in my 1970s dictionary that I think might help explain some of the political and societal polarization we have seen with the rise of the internet as a major news medium. The term is "concrete poetry," and it means "poetry in which the poet's intent is conveyed by the graphic patterns of letters, words, or symbols rather than by the conventional arrangement of words."
Suppose a poet's intent is to creat disgust or other strong feeling by means of graphic patterns in the text of his or her verses. How to do such a thing? I think that one way is by creating associations. For instance, the poet could use an odd font or line/letter/paragraph spacing when discussing something that most people find revolting, like vomit or diarrhea. Then later on, when discussing something that is not generally an object of disgust, the poet could utilize that same font or spacing pattern to recall those feelings of revulsion in connection with the new topic.
Imagine how useful that could be in political newswriting. A news outlet could subtly shift the spacing and appearance of letters in all articles that have to do with sexual harassment, and then it could use that same spacing and letter appearance when writing about a politician whom it opposes; readers would develop sensations of disgust towards that politician without even realizing why they are doing so. Subtle manipulation in such a way can be even more effective than overt propaganda because people can't intentionally, rationally reason through feelings that they don't realize have been subtly created in them.
The internet's primary use as a text-based information outlet with a wide variety of fonts and text patterns makes it ideal for exploiting the principles of concrete poetry. The ability to create positive and negative feelings in people can be harnessed to, among other things, increase sales, boost or decrease popularity, win elections, shift public opinions, and divide nations.
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