Mèmes et discours misogynes, homophobes et xénophobes : quels contre-discours ?

This article examines the techno-discursive and argumentative strategies deployed in Internet memes “responding” to various instances of hate speech on social and political issues such as immigration, xenophobia, and homophobia. First, we present the object “meme” to characterize its scriptural and enunciative features and highlight its discursive and enunciative specificity. We then analyse a pilot corpus collected to explore certain dimensions of this object, aiming to understand the memetic strategies implemented by Internet users to counter hate. By detailing, in particular, the argumentative methods used to respond to xenophobic hate, we identify two original dimensions: the staging of viewpoints and their interweaving to counter hate, and the use of an anti-ethos that ridicules the bearer of hate speech.