The The semiotics of hate in hoaxes about immigrants detected by fact-checking platforms in Spain, Greece, and Italy
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Abstract
The rejection of immigrants is socially constructed and is fuelled by the viralisation of false information, provoking hate speech loaded with symbolism. Hence, this study addresses a semiotic analysis of hate speech in hoaxes about immigrants published on social media in Spain, Greece and Italy, from January 2022 to August 2023. The hoaxes are located on the main fact checking platforms in each of the selected countries: Newtral, Ellinika Hoaxes and Facta news/Open, and a valid sample of 52 hoaxes is analysed. For this analysis, an interpretative perspective methodology is used, which delves into the fundamental aspects of semiotics (denotative and connotative sign). The work makes visible the signs that give meaning to cultural codes, social representations, myths or social imaginaries. In addition, it is concluded that the same patterns are repeated in these hoaxes in the three countries, in spite of the fact that they deal with different information, and the figure of the immigrant is associated with attributes such as vandal, anti-social, usurper or delinquent, causing the construction of meaning systems (myths) and social imaginaries that stigmatise this group and portray them as an inconvenient element in the host society.
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Author Biographies
Marta Sánchez Esparza, Doctora, Rey Juan Carlos University
Ph in Communication Sciences and professor in the Department of Journalism and Corporate Communication at the Rey Juan Carlos University. His research areas focus on public opinion, misinformation, construction of the journalistic story, artificial intelligence and deontology. Member of the High Performance Research Group on Citizen Participation and Digital Literacy Possibilities (PARTICYPAD) of the Rey Juan Carlos University, and of the Prospective Research Group on Multimedia Communication (Procomm) of the International University of La Rioja (UNIR).
Ignacio Vázquez Diéguez, Doctor, Universidad de Beira Interior (UBI)
Member of the Research Group “Ibero-American Cultural Geographies: Paisagens, Contato, Linguagens”, Universidade de São Paulo (Brazil). He is a full professor and develops his teaching activity in teaching Spanish in Portugal (bachelor's and master's degrees). His research areas relate to lexicography (particularly bilingual Spanish-Portuguese), historical grammar (Spanish, Portuguese, Galician), contrastive grammar (Spanish-Portuguese) and Spanish didactics.
Dory Merino Arribas, Doctora, International University of La Rioja
Journalist with 23 years of experience in Spanish communication groups. Full Professor, accredited by Aneca and the International University of La Rioja (UNIR), she has six years of research endorsed by the CENEAI. His current lines of research are: information treatment of immigration, digital communication, transmedia narrative, fake news, accountability, social networks, hate speech. He is a member of UNIR Research's own research plan in the PROCOMM group (Prospective Multimedia Communication).
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