From Polarization to Hate: Portrait of the Spanish Political Meme

Political polarization in Spain has been aggravated by a left-wing coalition government and the rise of the extreme right in the context of health and economic crisis created by COVID-19. This article delves into the collective story that memes offer of this context and aims to establish a categoriz...

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Autores principales: María Antonia Paz, Ana Mayagoitia-Soria, Juan-Manuel González-Aguilar
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Lenguaje:EN
Publicado: SAGE Publishing 2021
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Acceso en línea:https://doaj.org/article/bb0d514534894b6e80b206dcb72d9599
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spelling oai:doaj.org-article:bb0d514534894b6e80b206dcb72d95992021-12-03T23:33:19ZFrom Polarization to Hate: Portrait of the Spanish Political Meme2056-305110.1177/20563051211062920https://doaj.org/article/bb0d514534894b6e80b206dcb72d95992021-12-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1177/20563051211062920https://doaj.org/toc/2056-3051Political polarization in Spain has been aggravated by a left-wing coalition government and the rise of the extreme right in the context of health and economic crisis created by COVID-19. This article delves into the collective story that memes offer of this context and aims to establish a categorization that can be used for comparison with other countries. We carried out a content analysis of 636 Spanish political memes published on Twitter throughout 2020. Current affairs were taken into account, as well as the frame, and rhetorical elements, references to popular culture, and symbols. We also took into consideration the objectives of the message and the presence of offensive content. We demonstrate that these memes do not play a subversive role, but rather contribute to the polarization and fragmentation of the digital public, echoing the existing ideological confrontation. They do not deliver new ideas, but only reproduce expressions and disqualifications already existing in the society, although the disinhibition of anonymity magnifies the intensity. Current affairs are an excuse to convey ideological position, and political communication becomes more emotional. There are no significant differences in terms of political polarization between left and right, and criticism toward politicians is mainly of personal and moral nature. Hate speech on other social media appears in these cultural creations, highlighting the misogyny toward women politicians regardless of their political party. The rhetorical and expressive resources are adapted to this confrontation, and there is little innovation because it is subject to the understanding of the message.María Antonia PazAna Mayagoitia-SoriaJuan-Manuel González-AguilarSAGE PublishingarticleCommunication. Mass mediaP87-96ENSocial Media + Society, Vol 7 (2021)
institution DOAJ
collection DOAJ
language EN
topic Communication. Mass media
P87-96
spellingShingle Communication. Mass media
P87-96
María Antonia Paz
Ana Mayagoitia-Soria
Juan-Manuel González-Aguilar
From Polarization to Hate: Portrait of the Spanish Political Meme
description Political polarization in Spain has been aggravated by a left-wing coalition government and the rise of the extreme right in the context of health and economic crisis created by COVID-19. This article delves into the collective story that memes offer of this context and aims to establish a categorization that can be used for comparison with other countries. We carried out a content analysis of 636 Spanish political memes published on Twitter throughout 2020. Current affairs were taken into account, as well as the frame, and rhetorical elements, references to popular culture, and symbols. We also took into consideration the objectives of the message and the presence of offensive content. We demonstrate that these memes do not play a subversive role, but rather contribute to the polarization and fragmentation of the digital public, echoing the existing ideological confrontation. They do not deliver new ideas, but only reproduce expressions and disqualifications already existing in the society, although the disinhibition of anonymity magnifies the intensity. Current affairs are an excuse to convey ideological position, and political communication becomes more emotional. There are no significant differences in terms of political polarization between left and right, and criticism toward politicians is mainly of personal and moral nature. Hate speech on other social media appears in these cultural creations, highlighting the misogyny toward women politicians regardless of their political party. The rhetorical and expressive resources are adapted to this confrontation, and there is little innovation because it is subject to the understanding of the message.
format article
author María Antonia Paz
Ana Mayagoitia-Soria
Juan-Manuel González-Aguilar
author_facet María Antonia Paz
Ana Mayagoitia-Soria
Juan-Manuel González-Aguilar
author_sort María Antonia Paz
title From Polarization to Hate: Portrait of the Spanish Political Meme
title_short From Polarization to Hate: Portrait of the Spanish Political Meme
title_full From Polarization to Hate: Portrait of the Spanish Political Meme
title_fullStr From Polarization to Hate: Portrait of the Spanish Political Meme
title_full_unstemmed From Polarization to Hate: Portrait of the Spanish Political Meme
title_sort from polarization to hate: portrait of the spanish political meme
publisher SAGE Publishing
publishDate 2021
url https://doaj.org/article/bb0d514534894b6e80b206dcb72d9599
work_keys_str_mv AT mariaantoniapaz frompolarizationtohateportraitofthespanishpoliticalmeme
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AT juanmanuelgonzalezaguilar frompolarizationtohateportraitofthespanishpoliticalmeme
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