Mindsets and irreconcilable positions: A linguistic representation of Corona 19 social fractures

Abstract

Important subjects such as Flat Earth, global warming, Covid 19, Ukrainian war have given out the existence of two major factions on antagonistic stances, the pros and the cons, that aggressively deny their adversaries’ opinions on any of the aforementioned topics. One side’s arguments formed by heavy reliance on previous beliefs that stand in high credibility (Nilsson 2014, 16) to that group are denied by the other side’s that builds, at their turn, their current beliefs on others their group is usually fond of. This article aims at inventorying the discursive practices which each side makes use of firstly in building their own arguments for their believers and secondly in dismantling the discourse of the opponents. In building their own arguments, the focus of the analysis will be laid on the persuasive strategies used to convince those that already have a serious grounding in either of the sides. In dismantling the others’, special attention will be paid to address formulas and any other derogatory means used for the credibilisation of one’s stand and the discreditation of the others’.