Social representations of the Roma Community in the comments of the Spanish digital press: Case study in the context of COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The aim of this research is to identify the social representations of Roma community in the comments of the digital editions of Spanish newspapers. Specifically, we approach the object of the research based on the impact media of a case study. The case study focuses on some events in the Sevillian neighbourhood of Las Tres Mil Viviendas, which occurred during the first period of alarm declared in Spain on 14 March 2020 by COVID-19 pandemic. In this research we developed a content analysis, based on quantitative and qualitative techniques to retrieve the news in which case, the “My News database” is used. The main results show that the traditional stereotypes attributed to the Roma community persist and are emphasize. The contents of the comments reveal a wider scope of the demonstrations of rejection and discrimination against the Roma community. The narrative structures of the comments analysed allude to fear, conflict and danger as mechanisms for apprehending hate discourse. We conclude this paper pointing out that the different health, socio-political and economic scenarios of the COVID-19 pandemic have reinforced the complexity and intensity of the expressions of anti-gypsyism.