Prayers, punishment, and perception: an analysis of the response to the Tony Stewart – Kevin Ward Jr. incident on Facebook

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to analyse the response to Tony Stewart’s first public statement following the Kevin Ward Jr. incident and determine how individuals were discussing the incident on Facebook utilizing the theoretical lens of framing. A total of 14,888 comments from 4594 users were analysed with the qualitative software Leximancer. Two frames emerged from the data analysis including judgement and knowledge. Within those frames were five themes including fault, accident, conviction, racing knowledge and evidence. These themes were bi-directional in nature, which allowed users to place blame, question other users’ knowledge, analyse the nature of the incident itself, express support or disdain and call for further examination of the incident. This study’s findings highlight how Facebook can be utilized as a platform for individuals to create an organic framework and attribute their own meaning to a controversial incident.