Anti-Ukrainian Discourse in Poland as a Tool of Polarisation and Delegitimation. An Analysis of Political Communication on Twitter

Abstract

This article examines the political functions of anti-Ukrainian discourse in the Polish digital sphere, with a focus on Twitter/X activity following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The study is based on a corpus of 64,897 tweets and a methodology combining internet data processing techniques, the “thick big data” approach, and critical discourse analysis. It identifies dominant narratives, enemy representations, and rhetorical strategies. The findings indicate that anti-Ukrainian content is not spontaneous, but forms part of an ideologically driven strategy and a tool of political mobilisation. This discourse is marked by high emotional intensity, polarising rhetoric, the delegitimation of political elites, and the instrumental use of historical memory. Its primary function is to consolidate anti-system communities, reinforce exclusion-based political identities, and undermine trust in public institutions. The article contributes to research on digital political communication, populist rhetoric, and mechanisms of polarisation under conditions of social tension and geopolitical destabilisation.