“#HaveYouNoShame”: Unraveling the pragmatics of impolite political hashtags

Abstract

Politicians are increasingly using existing hashtags or creating new ones to amplify the visibility and dissemination of their messages. However, research on the pragmatic functions of hashtags in conflictive political discourse remains relatively scarce. This study examines the pragmatic functions of hashtags and how they affected the (im)polite tone of the tweets by the Iranian Foreign Minister and the U.S. Secretary of State between November 2018 and November 2019, focusing on the ongoing conflict between their respective countries. Hashtags (N = 294) related to the conflict were collected and thematically analyzed. Several categories of hashtags, including slogans, institutions, countries and regions, treaties, conferences, cultural references were identified. Their pragmatic functions included alliance building, othering, presenting a positive self-image, warning, criticism, and justifications. The analysis, informed by Culpeper's (2011) impoliteness framework, indicates that hashtags serve strategic purposes, allowing politicians to justify face threats and impolite language by invoking moral order. We discuss how even seemingly neutral-sounding hashtags like country names can be used to intensify the impoliteness of a tweet, imply solidarity or othering, and influence public opinion.