HATE SPEECH UNDER THE GUISE OF IRONY: DISCURSIVE STRATEGIES IN GEORGIAN SOCIAL MEDIA

Abstract

Social media constitutes one of the central platforms of contemporary socio-cultural discourse, where linguistic practices actively participate in the formation of ideologies and the redistribution of social power. Within this digital environment, particular significance is attached to those forms of language that are substantively aggressive yet stylistically wrapped in playfulness, humor, or irony. This study aims to analyze how irony is employed to conceal and legitimize hate speech in Georgian social media, how it functions as a rhetorical strategy, and how its effect varies depending on platform-specific features and audience perception frameworks.

The article draws on the methodological frameworks of literary linguistics and critical discourse analysis, which allow for a detailed examination of the textual mechanisms that construct ironic narratives within the expression of hate. An analysis of examples collected from real-life social media platforms reveals that irony often serves as a tool through which aggressive statements are communicated in an indirect, softened, and socially acceptable form. As a result, hate speech not only proliferates in a disguised manner but also gains a degree of social legitimacy, thereby complicating both its detection and opposition.

Special attention is devoted to stylistic elements such as intertextuality, metaphorization, sarcasm, the use of ironic labeling, and the blending of genre models—all of which play a critical role in shaping the ironic dimension of hate discourse. In parallel, the article considers the role of social media algorithms that prioritize emotionally charged and polarized content, thereby facilitating the circulation and normalization of irony-laden hate speech as a publicly accepted communicative practice. In this way, such language becomes an integral component of contemporary digital discourse.

Keywords: hate speech, irony, social media, discursive strategies.