Discourse analysis of Farsi-speaking Twitter users in the 7th of October, 2023 war regarding Fairclough's theory

علوم اجتماعی دانشگاه فردوسی مشهد

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript, Available Online from 08 March 2025   

Document Type: Scientific-Research

DOI: 10.22067/social.2025.90073.1576

Authors

Amirhossein Vadiee Noghabi^{* 1}; Mohammad Ali dadgostarnia²; Hamidreza Keshavarz³

¹University of Tehran

²Allameh Tabataba'i University

³Islamic Azad University Central Tehran Branch

Abstract

This study examines the discourse of Persian-speaking Twitter users regarding the October 7, 2023, conflict between Hamas and Israel. The research uses Fairclough's critical discourse analysis theory to analyse the polarization present in these discourses. Using computational social science methodologies, the data from tweets published between October 7 and November 5, 2023, were collected, and the structure and patterns of retweets were analyzed using social network analysis (SNA).

The findings of this research reveal that Persian-speaking Twitter users are divided into two distinct poles: one supporting the discourse of the Islamic Revolution and another aligning with the Israeli regime. One key user from each pole was selected, and their discourse was analyzed regarding themes, structure, and rhetorical strategies. The analyses demonstrate that users employ various rhetorical and linguistic techniques to propagate their ideologies. Users from both poles actively produce and disseminate specific content to reinforce their ideological identities and objectives.

The study shows that the discourses related to this conflict on Persian Twitter are heavily polarized, leaving little room for third-party or neutral narratives. Moreover, the findings indicate that retweeting techniques and hashtag usage serve as primary tools for content dissemination in this space, with the visibility and influence of users closely linked to the frequency and extent of their content being reshared.

Keywords

discourse analysis; computational social science; Persian Twitter; Palestine; polarization

References