Models of Argumentation in Socio-Political Telegram Channels’ Texts

Political communication on Telegram, one of the most popular platforms in Russia, has become a topic of interdisciplinary research. Telegram channels serve as spaces for political discussion and demonstrations, where various points of view on the same events are broadcasted. In this article, the authors uncover general trends and features of argumentation on the internet. They examine how analytical posts in political Telegram channels express different opinions on ongoing political events. Using content analysis, the authors conducted an empirical study of popular and ranking political Telegram channels. The authors reveal the characteristics of argumentation in analytical texts devoted to two of the most debated political events in recent years: the death of Mikhail Gorbachev (a federal event) and the return of the monument to the founder of the PMSC Felix Dzerzhinsky from the Muzeon park of arts to Lubyanka Square in Moscow (a local event). Based on the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of the content, the format of the message transmission, tone of publication, level of event consideration, tactics of argumentation, and other aspects, modern models of argumentation in political network communication are described. The authors identify four models based on the statement's purpose: realistic, reflective, subjective, and critical.