THE LANGUAGE OF INSULTS IN THE DISCOURSE OF SERBIAN POLITICAL PARTIES ON SOCIAL MEDIA DURING THE ELECTION CAMPAIGN

Social media has an increasingly important role in the communication of political parties with their supporters and potential voters. However, previous studies argue that communication via social media may often be a tool for preserving and deepening the trends of political polarisation, which occasionally amounts to political sectarianism. This paper deals with the language of insults aimed at political opponents in social media posts on the official X and Instagram social media profiles of the leading Serbian parties during the 2023 election campaign. The analysis of posts shows that insults are very often used when mentioning political opponents. The focus of insults is most often on discrediting the opponent as a person, on their activities, which are deemed immoral (e.g. lying, stealing), on their lack of qualifications or agency, as well as their lack of patriotism. In the conclusion, the importance of the identified patterns of political communication is discussed in light of the growing polarisation in Serbian society.