Political Implicatures on Instagram Posts by @salsaer

Abstract

The rise of social media has established Instagram as a digital space for the public to openly express political opinions and criticism. This study analysed speech acts and political implicatures in the Instagram content of @salsaer. Used a qualitative descriptive method, drawing on J. Searle’s theory of speech acts and the theory of political implicatures developed by Grice, Keraf and Suhadi. The results of the analysis reveal three speech act functions—assertive, directive, and commissive—as well as six forms of political implicature: irony, satire, sarcasm, euphemism, hyperbole, and metaphor. These speech act functions shape messages of public resistance against authority and drives political system reform. Meanwhile, political implicatures serve to delegitimize political actors and foster critical awareness among the audience.