Alexander's Binary Discourse and the Signal Group Chat

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    The above image depicts various messages that were sent in a Signal group chat between national security officials. The format of the messages themselves have been stylized for The New York Times article that goes through each of the messages with annotations. Pete Hegseth's first message in the top left corner shares top secret information about a U.S. military plan to attack Houthis in Yemen. The message includes the time of the attack, while additional messages not picture also included information about the planes to be used and force of the planned attack. The message directly below is another form Hegseth, updating the rest of the group on the progress of the plan. The two messages in the right hand column respond to different messages concerning the plan. Vice President JD Vance's message conveys his intention to pray for the success of the plan while Steve Witkoff response only with emojis of prayer hands, a bicep, and American flags. The columns are separated as they are most likely to emphasize the informality of Vance and Witkoff's responses to Hegseth's updates. All of these messages were shared with the public because Atlantic editor Jeffery Goldberg was added to the chat accidentally, exposing national security information to the public. 

    In chapter 4 of his book, The Civil Sphere, Jefferey Alexander discusses the idea of "civil discourse" and the binaries that exist within it (Alexander 2006: 54). Alexander claims that these binaries have codes at organize groups or members of civil society into categories of pure and impure (Alexander 2006: 55). These codes work on three levels: motives, relations and institutions. In doing so, the discourses create narratives about opposing groups or people, painting them as unworthy of rights and protection under the law of the civil sphere (Alexander 2006: 61). This narrative is then used to argue that some groups or members are inadequate for the sphere, while those who are painted to fit the ideal or "civil" code can be central in the sphere (Alexander 2006: 61). 

    Examples of these codes and narrative are prominent in the wake of the Signal group chat leak. When examining articles by notably partisan news outlets, MSNBC and Fox News, each side attacks the other using the anticivil codes to describe their opponents. The MSNBC articles mentions that the White House Communications Director called the story "fake news" spread by "enemies of America" (MSNBC 2025). Additionally, the article closes by describing how Mike Waltz was attempting to "slander" Jeffery Goldberg (MSNBC 2025). This article uses anticivil relations codes to describe the actions of White House officials in response to the leak, communicating to the public their incompetency and inadequacy for their current positions. In contrast and article from Fox News commends Waltz for assuming responsibility for adding Goldberg to the chat, and instead characterizes Goldberg by his "horrible reputation"and how he is "the bottom scum of journalists" (Fox News 2025). Again this article uses anticivil relations codes to portray Goldberg as an untrustworthy source in an attempt to discredit his reports of the chat. This event is a perfect example of how civil v. anticivil codes are used in the political sphere, as both sides of the argument use similar language in a bid to discredit the other and gain power within the situation. 


Alexander, Jefferey C. 2006. "Discourses: Liberty and Repression." Pp. 53-67 in The Civil Sphere. Oxford University Press. 

Benen, Steve. 2025. "With ‘Hoax’ Claim, White House’s Response to Signal Scandal Takes Incoherent Turn.” MSNBC, March 26. Retrieved March 27, 2025 (https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/hoax-claim-white-houses-response-signal-scandal-takes-incoherent-turn-rcna198195).  

Coggins, Madeline. 2025. "National Security Advisor Mike Waltz Takes Responsibility for 'Embarrassing' Signal Chat Leak." Fox News, March 25. Retrieved March 27 2025 (https://www.foxnews.com/media/national-security-advisor-mike-waltz-takes-responsibility-embarrassing-signal-chat-leak).

"The Leaked Signal Chat, Annotated." The New York Times, March 26, 2025. Retrieved March 27, 2025 (https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/03/25/us/signal-group-chat-text-annotations.html). 

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