Boycott Israel: What can multimodal discourse achieve by using logic and cognition?

Abstract

This research addresses the lack of an integrated framework combining formal logic (e.g., various types of syllogism) and cognitive pragmatics (e.g., presupposition, deixis, metaphor, metonymy, and speech acts) in analyzing multimodal protest discourse. Drawing on these elements, the study examines a corpus of Arabic-language boycott subvertisements targeting Israeli-affiliated products in support of Palestine, collected from Facebook in November 2024. The analysis reveals that these multimodal texts construct persuasive arguments through a blend of deductive reasoning, particularly modus ponens and, to a lesser extent, modus tollens, and emotionally charged cognitive and pragmatic cues. Verbal and visual elements interact to produce directive speech acts, guilt-framed presuppositions, religiously grounded metaphors, and ideologically salient metonymies such as PRODUCT FOR PRODUCER and SUPPORTER FOR PERPETRATOR. These strategies frame the addressee as a morally responsible agent and prompt consumer resistance through boycott. The study proposes an interdisciplinary framework for interpreting such multimodal argumentation and contributes to critical media studies, visual rhetoric, and multimodal communication research in general.