Political hate speech on Facebook social networking platform in Tunisia: Rhetoric of incitement and polarization (lexical and argumentative approach)

Abstract

In this study, we have tried to approach hatred as a political emotion, to observe its linguistic and rhetorical indicators, and to understand its argumentative purposes, with an eye to examining its performativity and its inciting power in connection with the context of political polarization in Tunisia since President Kais Saied announced the July 25 measures. We have monitored the linguistic, lexical and argumentative techniques indicating hate in the speeches of "electronic clans" both supporting and opposing the project of President "Sayed" as well as its polarizing steps and meanings.

We observed how the language describing the other, turns into a stigmatizing language and how the image’s language, occults hate and practices distortion and ugliness. We found that the lexicography of hate in both discourses reveal the stereotypical reductionist nature of hate speech, which is not always manifested in its explicit form, and we concluded that incitement in hate speech on Facebook is an extension of the hate expressions and categories used by politicians in their political discourse.