Visual rhetoric in the digital discourse of Peruvian trade unions on Facebook

Abstract

The fragmentation of trade unions has motivated the search for alternative strategies for union communication on social media, where iconic discourse has gained greater relevance than the linguistic capacity of traditional media to politically mobilize workers. In this context, the present research aims to analyze the uses of visual rhetoric in the digital discourse of labor unions through the social network Facebook, in order to establish effective communication with the public and organization members. To achieve this objective, a qualitative approach was adopted that focuses on the interpretation of visual rhetorical uses identified through the semiotic analysis of 323 images, including 113 logos and 210 graphic pieces of the unions that respond to various specific activities on the Facebook platform. As a result, four semantic cores of union discourse were identified: (i) emancipation, (ii) representativeness, (iii) comradeship, and (iv) consensus. Through four modes of iconic-plastic relationship, it was discovered that the most used rhetorics were those of emancipation and representativeness, while the rhetorics of comradeship were postulated as an emerging trend, and to a lesser extent, those of consensus. This research contributes to studies on labor unions from a semiotic perspective.