From controversy to hate speech: A study of reception on twitter from a semiolinguistic perspective

Abstract

This paper aims to contribute to the study of reception within the scope of Discourse Analysis, analyzing the fine line between controversial manifestations and hate speech in comments by Internet users in response to a video published by former deputy Jean Wyllys, entitled “Which of the two is closest to – or more closely following – the teachings left by Jesus in the gospels? Which of the two most preserves true Christian values?” Based on the contributions of Charaudeau (2008) and Barros (2015), among others, we seek to analyze the comments produced by Internet users on this message. Through the differentiation of expressions of agreement and disagreement, we identified cases of extreme rejection to the speaker, which go beyond the scope of the controversy and are characterized as hate speech, revealing, in the analyzed data, traces of the so-called ideological matrix of the conservative right.