Heroes or Villains? Memetic Communication of Politics in Poland in Times of COVID-19 Crisis
Abstract
This study presents how politics was portrayed and narrated through memes in Poland during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our findings confirm that memes were indicators of opinions and an expression of a collective identity, which could contribute to sociopolitical polarization by creating “enemy” images of disliked politicians as “villains”.
Keywords
internet memes; COVID-19; narrative schemes; political satire; polarization
References
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University of Silesia in Katowice Poland
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9981-9988
Dr Róża Norström, assistant professor, Institute of Journalism and Media Communication, University of Silesia in Katowice. Her research interests are political communication, international relations and conflict reporting.
University of Silesia in Katowice Poland
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4211-2310
Dr hab. Paweł Sarna prof. UŚ, associate professor, Institute of Journalism and Media Communication, University of Silesia in Katowice. His research interest focus on rhetoric in media communication.
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