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From demonization to polarisation: An analysis of the Venezuelan government’s and the political opposition’s

Abstract:

The messages from the most important representatives of the Venezuelan government and the opposition will be analysed quantitatively and qualitatively through their Twitter accounts using interpretive content analysis. Our aim is to identify and evaluate the propensity of the discourse toward demonization, which as a consequence, widens the existing polarisation and antagonism in that country. Among the main results, we find that the confrontational tone has been transferred to the digital stage; demonization and the invisibility of “the otherness” are deepened, and the social networks are used to demobilise the democratic acts of the dissidents.