HATE IN SOCIAL MEDIA: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF RACIST AND LGBTPHOBIC DISCOURSE BY @NOTICIASNOFACE ON INSTAGRAM
Hate speech; Critical Discourse Analysis; Media Studies; lgbtphobia; racism; Instagram.
With the effervescence of digital social networks and a new logic of media redemocratization, which allows the public to produce content for the internet and interact with its users, the number of profiles, so-called journalistic ones, especially those with a police content, has been occupying massive digital spaces like Instagram. The facilities and set of functionalities of these social networking platforms have also allowed people to share prejudiced beliefs on the internet, disseminating and reinforcing their speeches in a particular form, speed and scope in the most diverse social contexts. The present research, therefore, seeks to investigate the racist and lgbtphobic discourses of the @noticiasnoface profile on Instagram, through an analysis of publications and comments from April 2020. Using the Critical Discourse Analysis of Van Dijk (2018) and other authors who discuss power, control, media and issues of race and sexuality, we propose to identify the abusive power relations present in hate speeches that perpetuate inequalities through a dominant posture. In addition, we reflect on the notion of good citizenship as a structure that underlies the discursive practice of the aforementioned profile. The results of the analysis of the posts show that @noticiasnoface, aside from producing and reverberate racist and lgbtphobic speeches, reinforces social stereotypes about these bodies, encourages hatred and violence and acts based on a supposed freedom of expression, even if their speeches mock, nullify and deny the existence of racialized and LGBT+ people.