Towards an Evidential Study of Text in Digital Disinformation Contexts

Abstract

This paper proposes an approximation between Textual Linguistics (TL) and the evidential paradigm (Ginzburg, 1986, 2007), advocating for its application in an analytical framework for texts within disinformation contexts in the digital sphere. The aim is to unveil negligible yet constituent intentionalities, as well as the circumstances that cyberspace provides to enable erratic interactions or informational opacity. The study employs the evidential paradigm to examine revealing singularities (Abaurre; Coudry, 2008) in texts from distinct thematic domains, which share the common characteristic of conveying deceptive statements within digital genres. Specifically, it analyzes an attempted financial scam in the instant messaging conversation genre, a piece of scientific disinformation in the social media post genre, and a predatory correspondence in the email genre. The analysis traces contradictions between a text’s projected identity and its underlying intentions, identified through the evidential paradigm as an inferential investigative method, combined with the analyst’s tacit knowledge cultivated through engagement in digital spaces. The findings indicate a potential expansion of TL’s analytical toolkit, enabling a more critical examination of contemporary texts, particularly digital ones. This methodological approach contributes to a less naïve and more critically engaged reading, aligning with the social function of language studies.