Hate speech and political rethoric: in search for hatred content in the tweets of Members of the European Parliament

Agnese OLMATI

Master's thesis

Hate Speech and the European Union: a Communication Analysis in the European Parliament

Abstract:

During the past decades the political debate has experienced a rise in messages of hate and discrimination. This thesis considers the current issue of hate speech in the specific context of the European political debate. Given the increasing relevance of online communication and the role social media have acquired, this research aims at analysing tweets posted by MEPs and their political groups in order to detect the eventual presence of hatred content. Due to the complexity of the concept of hate speech, it has been decided not to consider any legal nor academic definition of hate speech and to adopt a linguistic-based approach. Critical discourse analysis, together with the definition of soft hate speech, have been chosen to identify implicit forms of hate speech through the application of linguistic tools. Data collected in the aftermath of the Strasbourg and Christchurch attacks have been analysed to understand whether and how MEPs contribute to spreading hate messages through their Twitter communication. Findings reveal that some politicians actually express hate through their tweets, conveying mainly discriminatory and Islamophobic sentiments. The research thus brings evidence of the presence of hate speech in one of the main EU institutions, highlighting a problem which undermines the values at the core of the European project. In doing so, it aims at stressing the need for a more complete definition of hate speech and it emphasizes the relevance of linguistic-based approach to detect subtle forms of the phenomenon.

Abstract:

During the past decades the political debate has experienced a rise in messages of hate and discrimination. This thesis considers the current issue of hate speech in the specific context of the European political debate. Given the increasing relevance of online communication and the role social media have acquired, this research aims at analysing tweets posted by MEPs and their political groups in order to detect the eventual presence of hatred content. Due to the complexity of the concept of hate speech, it has been decided not to consider any legal nor academic definition of hate speech and to adopt a linguistic-based approach. Critical discourse analysis, together with the definition of soft hate speech, have been chosen to identify implicit forms of hate speech through the application of linguistic tools. Data collected in the aftermath of the Strasbourg and Christchurch attacks have been analysed to understand whether and how MEPs contribute to spreading hate messages through their Twitter communication. Findings reveal that some politicians actually express hate through their tweets, conveying mainly discriminatory and Islamophobic sentiments. The research thus brings evidence of the presence of hate speech in one of the main EU institutions, highlighting a problem which undermines the values at the core of the European project. In doing so, it aims at stressing the need for a more complete definition of hate speech and it emphasizes the relevance of linguistic-based approach to detect subtle forms of the phenomenon.

Keywords

Hate speech, Twitter, MEPs, critical discourse analysis, Islamophobia.

Language used: Czech

Date on which the thesis was submitted / produced: 24. 7. 2019

Thesis defence

• Supervisor: Mgr. Petra Chvojková, Ph.D.

Palacký University Olomouc

Faculty of Arts

Master programme / field:
Humanities / Euroculture