Dog whistle politics is the use of coded or suggestive language in political messaging to garner support from a particular group without provoking opposition). The term "dog whistle" comes from ultrasonic dog whistles, which are audible to dogs but not to humans). The goal of dog whistle politics is to appeal to the greatest possible number of electors while alienating the smallest possible number). The concept is named after ultrasonic dog whistles, which are audible to dogs but not to humans).

Dog whistle messages can be heard and understood by members of certain groups, but not by the population at large. They are tools of what the sociologist Erving Goffman called impression management, or what Aristotle called ethos— the shaping of an audience’s perception of your character for persuasive purposes. Some expressions are used only (or primarily) by certain groups, and so their use can signal membership in that group.

Dog whistles are often used to refer to people of color and the various threats they apparently command. They are used to call upon the anxiety or fear of minorities that already resides not-so-far beneath the surface, divide class interests, and win elections. Dog whistle messages are often offensive and can be used to reinvent racism and wreck the middle class.

The problem with dog whistle politics is that it undermines democracy because if voters have different understandings of what they were supporting during a campaign, the fact that they were seeming to support the same thing is "democratically meaningless" and does not give the dog-whistler a policy mandate). The use of dog whistle politics has become increasingly prevalent in recent years, with many politicians using it to appeal to certain groups without alienating others.