Modality Journal: International Journal of Linguistics and Literature
Vol. 5 No. 2 (2025): December 2025

Critique of The Repression of Palestinian Media in Arabic Caricatures on The Instagram Account @rahma_toons (A Piercean Semiotic Study)

Akhmad Firmansyah Firman (Universitas Islam Negeri Maulana Malik Ibrahim Malang)
Arif Rahman Hakim (Universitas Islam Negeri Maulana Malik Ibrahim Malang)



Article Info

Publish Date
31 Dec 2025

Abstract

This study addresses the central question of how five Arabic political caricatures posted by @rahma_toons account represent media repression against Palestinian journalists amid escalating violence in Gaza. The background to the issue stems from the increasing targeting of journalists and the limited number of visual semiotics studies that interpret the dynamics of violence through digital caricatures. The novelty of this research lies in the use of caricatures as visual texts to reveal epistemic repression, patterns of attacks on journalists, and approaches that are still rarely discussed in Middle Eastern media studies. The research questions are answered through descriptive qualitative methods using Charles Sanders Peirce's semiotic framework, which analyzes visual signs to reveal the dominant patterns of meaning embedded in caricatures. The analysis revealed three dominant patterns: journalists as marked targets, destruction of equipment as erasure of truth, and systematic silencing. These findings demonstrate that digital caricatures function as counter-narratives that expose structural violence and preserve collective memory when mainstream media channels are constrained.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

modality

Publisher

Subject

Languange, Linguistic, Communication & Media

Description

Modality Journal: International Journal of Linguistics and Literature is accommodates scientific articles in the form of article publication, book reviews, original research report, reviews and scientific commentaries related to linguistics and literature.This journal invites researcher, academics ...