Nuria Lorenzo-Dus

This Element examines technology-assisted grooming of children for sex – henceforth, online grooming – as an illegal practice of communicative manipulation and, as such, something that research within the academic field of forensic linguistics is ideally placed to help counter. The analysis draws upon online grooming datasets of different sizes and provenance, including from law enforcement, and deploys different analytic techniques from primarily discourse analysis. Three features of online grooming discourse are focussed on: groomers' use of manipulation tactics; groomers' abuse of power asymmetries; and children's communication during online grooming. The Element also discusses ways in which findings derived from richly contextualised analysis of online grooming discourse can – when combined with co-creation projects involving child-safeguarding groups, children and lived-experience experts – add considerable value to societal efforts to counter online grooming and other forms of online child sexual exploitation and abuse.

Illicit digital activity is a substantial and growing problem. Extremists' use of social media over the past decade or so has raised increasing concern among governments and media corporations alike. In Digital Grooming Nuria Lorenzo-Dus analyzes manipulation practices in digital spaces that are situated at, or beyond, the boundaries of law. Lorenzo-Dus identifies and examines in detail the online discourse of adults luring children for sexual abuse and exploitation (digital sexual grooming); extreme ideology groups aligning others to their views (digital ideological grooming); and drug dealers soliciting business in crypto markets (digital commercial grooming). With sophisticated style and stance analyses of large and varied datasets, the book reveals that digital sexual, ideological, and commercial grooming practices have much in common. Three stances--expertise, openness, and avidity--scaffold this manipulative work, which constructs groomers and their targets as sharing a homogenous identity. By shedding new light on grooming practices, this book provides a key resource for discourse analysis, forensic linguistics, communication, and media studies, as well as for practitioners aiming to counter online grooming through policy changes, detection software, and prevention-focused training to promote digital civility and safety.

Illicit digital activity is a substantial and growing problem. Extremists' use of social media over the past decade or so has raised increasing concern among governments and media corporations alike. In Digital Grooming Nuria Lorenzo-Dus analyzes manipulation practices in digital spaces that are situated at, or beyond, the boundaries of law. Lorenzo-Dus identifies and examines in detail the online discourse of adults luring children for sexual abuse and exploitation (digital sexual grooming); extreme ideology groups aligning others to their views (digital ideological grooming); and drug dealers soliciting business in crypto markets (digital commercial grooming). With sophisticated style and stance analyses of large and varied datasets, the book reveals that digital sexual, ideological, and commercial grooming practices have much in common. Three stances--expertise, openness, and avidity--scaffold this manipulative work, which constructs groomers and their targets as sharing a homogenous identity. By shedding new light on grooming practices, this book provides a key resource for discourse analysis, forensic linguistics, communication, and media studies, as well as for practitioners aiming to counter online grooming through policy changes, detection software, and prevention-focused training to promote digital civility and safety.

A state-of-the-art collection of works on institutional discourse across the Spanish-speaking world. This volume focuses on how language is used in the media, politics and the workplace; what discursive identities are constructed; and how interpersonal relations are negotiated.

A state-of-the-art collection of works on institutional discourse across the Spanish-speaking world. This volume focuses on how language is used in the media, politics and the workplace; what discursive identities are constructed; and how interpersonal relations are negotiated.

What is the connection between what is said on TV and how it is said? Structured around four key features of the current broadcast landscape (storytelling, closeness, conflict and persuasion), Television Discourse examines the specific forms and structures of talk across media genres as varied as reality shows and political interviews.

What is the connection between what is said on TV and how it is said? Structured around four key features of the current broadcast landscape (storytelling, closeness, conflict and persuasion), Television Discourse examines the specific forms and structures of talk across media genres as varied as reality shows and political interviews.