“Funny Weapons”: The Norms of Humour in the Construction of Far‐Right Political Polarisation
Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil, Nayib Bukele in El Salvador, and Javier Milei in Argentina are just a few paradigmatic cases that represent, to different degrees, the rise of populism, the advances of right‐wing radicalism, and the resurgence of extreme nationalism in Latin America in the last decade. The...
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Cogitatio
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Social Inclusion |
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| Online Access: | https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/10211 |
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| author | Gabriel Bayarri Toscano Concepción Fernández-Villanueva |
| author_facet | Gabriel Bayarri Toscano Concepción Fernández-Villanueva |
| author_sort | Gabriel Bayarri Toscano |
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| description | Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil, Nayib Bukele in El Salvador, and Javier Milei in Argentina are just a few paradigmatic cases that represent, to different degrees, the rise of populism, the advances of right‐wing radicalism, and the resurgence of extreme nationalism in Latin America in the last decade. The question that arose after the victory of the far‐right was: How could this have happened? One of the instruments that undoubtedly contributed to this unexpected victory was a peculiar aspect of these political campaigns: memetic communication. Through the use of memes in social media (above all WhatsApp), the far‐right transformed violent discourses against political opponents, feminism, racialised persons, and poverty into a series of messages legitimised through humour and irony. This process operated as a simplification that disrupted stable systems of social norms and metaphorical frameworks. Between September 2022 and February 2024, in the weeks leading up to and following each presidential election, we collected and analysed visual data employing open‐source software. We also conducted ethnographic fieldwork and digital ethnography during the weeks preceding the elections to capture online and offline discourses and the affective milieu of each electoral campaign, providing contextual insight into the impact of memetic communication. Our analysis demonstrates the trivialisation and legitimisation of violence against political opponents and other social groups. This process may also be interpreted as an attempt to render the unconstitutional as legitimate, framing exclusionary or violent political acts as necessary or even virtuous. Much of this legitimisation was camouflaged under the mask of supposed humour and irony, which in reality was insulting, prejudicial, and dehumanising. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-415941ecd2d84546973d5b875b0bf158 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2183-2803 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Cogitatio |
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| series | Social Inclusion |
| spelling | doaj-art-415941ecd2d84546973d5b875b0bf1582025-08-20T03:45:07ZengCogitatioSocial Inclusion2183-28032025-07-0113010.17645/si.102114273“Funny Weapons”: The Norms of Humour in the Construction of Far‐Right Political PolarisationGabriel Bayarri Toscano0Concepción Fernández-Villanueva1Audiovisual Communication, Rey Juan Carlos University, SpainSocial Psychology, Complutense University, SpainJair Bolsonaro in Brazil, Nayib Bukele in El Salvador, and Javier Milei in Argentina are just a few paradigmatic cases that represent, to different degrees, the rise of populism, the advances of right‐wing radicalism, and the resurgence of extreme nationalism in Latin America in the last decade. The question that arose after the victory of the far‐right was: How could this have happened? One of the instruments that undoubtedly contributed to this unexpected victory was a peculiar aspect of these political campaigns: memetic communication. Through the use of memes in social media (above all WhatsApp), the far‐right transformed violent discourses against political opponents, feminism, racialised persons, and poverty into a series of messages legitimised through humour and irony. This process operated as a simplification that disrupted stable systems of social norms and metaphorical frameworks. Between September 2022 and February 2024, in the weeks leading up to and following each presidential election, we collected and analysed visual data employing open‐source software. We also conducted ethnographic fieldwork and digital ethnography during the weeks preceding the elections to capture online and offline discourses and the affective milieu of each electoral campaign, providing contextual insight into the impact of memetic communication. Our analysis demonstrates the trivialisation and legitimisation of violence against political opponents and other social groups. This process may also be interpreted as an attempt to render the unconstitutional as legitimate, framing exclusionary or violent political acts as necessary or even virtuous. Much of this legitimisation was camouflaged under the mask of supposed humour and irony, which in reality was insulting, prejudicial, and dehumanising.https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/10211far‐righthumourlatin americamemetic communicationsocial normsviolence |
| spellingShingle | Gabriel Bayarri Toscano Concepción Fernández-Villanueva “Funny Weapons”: The Norms of Humour in the Construction of Far‐Right Political Polarisation Social Inclusion far‐right humour latin america memetic communication social norms violence |
| title | “Funny Weapons”: The Norms of Humour in the Construction of Far‐Right Political Polarisation |
| title_full | “Funny Weapons”: The Norms of Humour in the Construction of Far‐Right Political Polarisation |
| title_fullStr | “Funny Weapons”: The Norms of Humour in the Construction of Far‐Right Political Polarisation |
| title_full_unstemmed | “Funny Weapons”: The Norms of Humour in the Construction of Far‐Right Political Polarisation |
| title_short | “Funny Weapons”: The Norms of Humour in the Construction of Far‐Right Political Polarisation |
| title_sort | funny weapons the norms of humour in the construction of far right political polarisation |
| topic | far‐right humour latin america memetic communication social norms violence |
| url | https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/10211 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT gabrielbayarritoscano funnyweaponsthenormsofhumourintheconstructionoffarrightpoliticalpolarisation AT concepcionfernandezvillanueva funnyweaponsthenormsofhumourintheconstructionoffarrightpoliticalpolarisation |