<![CDATA[This study aims to describe the linguistic politeness strategies employed by internet users in digital political discourse within the comment sections of @aniesbaswedan’s Instagram account, and to explain their relevance to the instruction of argumentative texts. The study employs a qualitative approach with a descriptive design, utilizing pragmatic analysis based on Brown and Levinson’s politeness theory, supported by Leech’s principles of politeness. The data consist of 32 comments from posts concerning political issues and public policy, collected between January and June 2024. Data were selected purposively based on the alignment of the utterances with the research focus. Data collection was conducted through observation, note-taking, and documentation, while the analysis process involved data collection, reduction, presentation, and conclusion drawing. Data validity was ensured through theoretical triangulation, persistent observation, and peer debriefing. The findings reveal four types of politeness strategies: positive politeness (17 instances, 53.1%), bald-on-record strategies (7 instances, 21.9%), off-record strategies (5 instances, 15.6%), and negative politeness (3 instances, 9.4%). The prevalence of positive politeness indicates that expressions of support, agreement, and efforts to foster rapport are the most prominent forms of communication. Meanwhile, the other strategies demonstrate various ways of conveying criticism, disagreement, and sarcasm. In the context of teaching argumentative texts, Instagram comments can serve as contextual material for identifying opinions, evaluating reasoning and evidence, and distinguishing between explicit and implicit meanings. This application is relevant for training students to construct arguments in a logical and polite manner. However, the pedagogical relevance discussed in this study remains conceptual and has not yet been tested through practical classroom implementation or the assessment of student learning outcomes.]]>
