Violence and violations: Perspectives of non-professional audiences on enhanced interrogation

Background: This article analyses how the Enhanced Interrogation programme was discussed and ethically interpreted on a major internet forum. Methods: Posts on this forum were thematically analysed. Results: Six major themes were identified: Perspectives on Enhanced Interrogators; Perceived Efficacy of Enhanced Interrogation; Perceived Ethics of Enhanced Interrogation; Manipulation of Public Opinion about Enhanced Interrogation's violence; and Accountability/Lack of Accountability for Enhanced Interrogation. Conclusions: The results suggest that internet forums can act as counterveiling spaces for the development of anti-Enhanced Interrogation narratives. They also suggest that it might be useful for anti-torture messaging to emphasise the role of self-/economic interest in torture, and emphasise the ethical elitism of the audiences who are the targets of such messaging.