IMPOLITENESS STRATEGIES IN HATE SPEECH COMMENTS ON NOAH SCHNAPP’S INSTAGRAM POSTS

This research aims to (1) identify the impoliteness strategies in hate speech comments on Noah Schnapp’s Instagram posts and (2) explain the function of impoliteness strategies manifested by netizens in Noah Schnapp’s Instagram posts. The controversy that arose after Schnapp openly supported Zionism triggered a flood of hate comments from netizens. The research used Jonathan Culpeper’s theory of impoliteness to identify five types of impoliteness strategies: negative impoliteness, bald on record impoliteness, positive impoliteness, sarcasm or mock politeness, and withhold politeness. Data were collected qualitatively and analyzed descriptively. As a result, out of 30 data analyzed, the negative impoliteness strategy was the most dominant (15 data), followed by bald on record (7 data), sarcasm or mock politeness (4 data), and positive impoliteness (4 data), while withhold politeness was not found. In terms of function, most of the comments reflect affective functions (16 data), which show emotional outbursts such as anger or disappointment, followed by coercive functions (9 data), and entertainment functions (5 data). This research provides insight into how netizens use impoliteness strategies to attack celebrities' public images on social media.