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by gfarah 755 days ago
Why is the theme of "war" so prevalently overused in U.S. media? The ubiquity of phrases such as "War on X" appears to be a favored trope in titles. Is this phenomenon primarily driven by the pursuit of click engagement, or are there other underlying factors at play?
3 comments

Not specifically "clicks" because phrases like War on Drugs, War on Terror, and War on Christmas predate widespread use of the Internet. For instance:

> The term "war on drugs" was popularized by the media shortly after a press conference, given on June 17, 1971, during which President Richard Nixon declared drug abuse "public enemy number one". - Wikipedia

And some "War ons" were coined by politicians, so it's not just the media who like the phrase.

Search country W or country X 'weaponizes' Y or Z. It's another widespread tournure that could make one wonder if one organisation is writing the whole load of rubbish.
because the US is one of the most warlike countries to ever exist that can only contextualize solutions through war