A Semantic Analysis of Pro-Palestine and Pro-Israel Hashtags on Selected News and Media Instagram Accounts

https://doi.org/10.22146/jla.95908

Ahmad Ismail(1*)

(1) Sunan Kalijaga State Islamic University
(*) Corresponding Author

Abstract


The study aims to investigate the hashtags used by selected news and media Instagram accounts associated with pro-Palestine and pro-Israel viewpoints amid the ongoing 2023 conflict. The study employed a qualitative descriptive approach due to the written format of the data. The study utilized the Flourish website's analysis software to identify prevalent hashtags within a specific timeframe from 1st to 7th November 2023.  The hashtags data taken were in a limited period between 1st and 7th November 2023. Through a semantic approach, these hashtags were examined to reveal their nuanced meanings and representations, particularly in relation to support for each side. The present study analyzing 1825 hashtags from 5 pro-Palestine accounts and 1255 hashtags from 5 pro-Israel accounts revealed distinct hashtag preferences for each group. In the first stage of analysis, after excluding neutral hashtags, #Gazaunderattack emerged as the most prominent hashtag among pro-Palestine accounts, while pro-Israel accounts predominantly used #HamasisIsis. In the second stage, without excluding any hashtags, #Palestine was the dominant tag for pro-Palestine accounts, while pro-Israel accounts prominently used the #Israel hashtag. These hashtags carry distinct connotations depending on their context of usage. By employing a semantic analysis of Instagram hashtags, this study sheds light on the significant role of social media within the linguistic landscape, particularly in expressing and shaping support for conflicting perspectives.


Keywords


semantics, social media, Instagram hashtags, pro-Palestine, pro-Israel,



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DOI: https://doi.org/10.22146/jla.95908

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