Analysis of the argumentative interaction in a debate between digital influencers on Tiktok

Abstract

This article aims to explore the characteristics of argumentation in debate videos published on TikTok. The theoretical framework is based on the interactional perspective of argumentation, by Plantin (2008) and Grácio (2011; 2016), and on the model of analysis of the argumentative text proposed by Padilla, Douglas and López (2011). The corpus is composed from a short video published on TikTok, which consists of a cut from a debate broadcast on YouTube. The analysis focuses on the pragmatic context, the argumentative structure and the enunciative strategies mobilized in the argumentative interaction between the two influencers who debate the issue of possession and carrying of weapons in Brazil. The results indicate that eristic argumentation characterizes this debate, having as constituent elements the polemical modality, the attack on the person, the exchange of misleading questions, the frequent transfer of the burden of proof through questions and the modalization by a high degree of certainty about what is enunciated. Finally, it suggests expanding studies on debates in digital media to confirm the recurrence of data observed in this initial exploration.