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Article published In: Journal of Language and Politics
Vol. 24:5 (2025) ► pp.760–782

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Far-right discourse in Brazil

Shameless language as a common practice?

ORCiD logo with link | Federal University of Minas Gerais
ORCiD logo with link | Federal University of Minas Gerais
ORCiD logo with link | Federal University of Minas Gerais
Published online: 13 September 2024
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/jlp.23120.oli
Abstract
Although it is almost common sense in Brazil that far-right leaders typically deploy impolite language as part of their rhetoric, the issue is still understudied and lacks empirical evidence. We explore the trendiest hashtags and their accompanying posts used as replies to the Brazilian Supreme Court’s official Twitter/X account between October 2021 and October 2022, which covers a year before the 2022 presidential election. After analyzing 414,652 posts, our results showed that shameless impolite language was deployed in 94.9% of the hashtags. The data confirms that online verbal attacks on the judiciary were a common posting practice on Twitter/X. The strategy’s main element has been combining impolite language with lies and manipulation to defame perceived opponents and attract followers.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Impoliteness and far-right discourse
    • 2.1Situating the terminology within our theoretical background
    • 2.2Impoliteness and populist rhetoric
    • 2.3Brazilian politics, social media, and the rise of Bolsonaro
  • 3.Method of data collection and data analysis
  • 4.Results
  • 5.Analysis of selected posts
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Note
  • References
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