The study aimed to identify the extent to which persuasive discourse was employed through the Facebook posts of the winning lists that participated in the second phase of the local council elections in 2022in Palestine. It took the two major cities of the West Bank, Nablus, and Hebron, as a case study during the electoral campaign period extending from March 12, 2022, to March 24, 2022. The study used content analysis to analyze the entire posts of the two winning lists; Loyalty to Hebron (Hamas-backed) and Nablus Selects (Fatah-backed). Hence, the researchers examined 365 Facebook posts which comprise the whole population of posts. The results show that the “Nablus Selects" list used Pathos in 86.66% of its posts, Ethos in68.48%, and Logos in 9.69%. The loyalty to Hebron list employed Pathos in 83.5% of its Facebook posts, Ethos in 41.5%, and logos in11.5%. In conclusion, the Palestinian people are emotionally affected, making both lists focus mainly on the emotional discourse to win the votes and support of the constituencies. As people suffering under the Israeli occupation, the Palestinians are also driven by the list members’ credibility and guiding beliefs, which pushed the lists to employ Ethos as a persuasive appeal.

 Keywords: Aristotelian Rhetoric, Facebook, Elections, Local Municipality, pathos, logos
 

Title

المجلة المصریة لبحوث الرأى العام

Publisher

المجلة المصریة لبحوث الرأى العام

Publisher Country

Egypt

Publication Type

Both (Printed and Online)

Volume

22

Year

2023

Pages

615-639