Political Discourse on Immigration in Italian Social Media

Political Discourse on Immigration in Italian Social Media

The Construction of Alternative Otherness

von Dario Lucchesi

This book examines how political discourse on immigration is constructed across Italian social media, focusing on the ways “otherness” is reshaped within digital platforms. Drawing on Social-Media Critical Discourse Studies, it introduces the concept of alternative otherness to explain how migrants are symbolically repositioned in a polarized and mediatized communicative environment. The book is structured in three main parts. The first reconstructs and connects key socio-technical processes that shape the conditions under which political discourse on immigration emerges. The second part outlines the theoretical and methodological framework, grounded in the critical tradition of Critical Discourse Studies and its extension to social media environments. The third part presents four empirical case studies examining emblematic episodes related to immigration in the Italian context between 2017 and 2025, showing how political actors construct and circulate recurring discursive patterns that progressively shift attention away from migrants themselves toward new forms of antagonism.

This book examines how political discourse on immigration is constructed across Italian social media, focusing on the ways “otherness” is reshaped within digital platforms. Drawing on Social-Media Critical Discourse Studies, it introduces the concept of alternative otherness to explain how migrants are symbolically repositioned in a polarized and mediatized communicative environment. The book is structured in three main parts. The first reconstructs and connects key socio-technical processes that shape the conditions under which political discourse on immigration emerges. The second part outlines the theoretical and methodological framework, grounded in the critical tradition of Critical Discourse Studies and its extension to social media environments. The third part presents four empirical case studies examining emblematic episodes related to immigration in the Italian context between 2017 and 2025, showing how political actors construct and circulate recurring discursive patterns that progressively shift attention away from migrants themselves toward new forms of antagonism.

Dario Lucchesi is an adjunct professor at the University of Padua, Italy. His research interests lie in the sociology of new media, with a focus on media representations of migration and political communication. His work examines the discursive construction of discrimination, particularly the normalization of anti-immigration discourse in political and media contexts.

Highlights

• Adopts new approaches and interpretative tools for analyzing political discourse on migration Considers logic and affordances of social media platforms as elements that shape immigration discourse Reframes “political incivility” on migration, understood as repertoires of communicative strategies

Über den Autor

Dario Lucchesi is an adjunct professor at the University of Padua, Italy. His research interests lie in the sociology of new media, with a focus on media representations of migration and political communication. His work examines the discursive construction of discrimination, particularly the normalization of anti-immigration discourse in political and media contexts.