The Expression of Hate Speech in Online News Comments Towards War Refugees

Lithuania has been the biggest supporter of Ukraine since the armed attacks and invasion of the country in 2022. There has been a significant influx of Ukrainian war refugees to Lithuania. Despite the large-scale individual and institutional initiatives of support for Ukraine and its display in the mainstream media, social media reflected a diverse picture. The aim of this research is to identify the expression of hate speech in Lithuanian online news comments on the Ukrainian war refugees, to identify and analyse nominations which might be reconstructed on the basis of these comments, and to define them as rhetorical and cognitive means that are used to form the intended image of the Ukrainian war refugee. The research focuses on Facebook comments posted under articles on the Ukrainian war refugees, published on the main Lithuanian news websites.