posted on 2023-09-01, 15:24authored byVahid Parvaresh, Gemma Harvey
Hateful ideas have always been expressed during conflict interactions, but it is only in recent years that they have become increasingly pervasive in public domains. This is in large part due to social media which on the one hand facilitate, among other things, anonymity and by extension impunity from prosecution. It is in such a context that the language of hate reproduces itself in various shapes and forms. The present study puts under scrutiny the use of a discursively innovative form of language, namely ‘rhetorical questions’, in conveying hateful ideas. To this aim, we focus on Instagram comments directed at Afghans. The findings of the study point to the implicative, yet tremendously ubiquitous, use of rhetorical questions in conveying hate. In this respect, various functions of such devices are presented and discussed.