Impact potential of political internet-memes: Yu.V. Rozhdestvenskiy's theory of rhetoric

The article examines communicative features of political Internet-memes, their rhetorical nature and considers them as a new genre of political Internet-communication. The research advances the framework of Yuriy V. Rozhdestvenskiy’s theory of rhetoric to apply it to genre specification of Internet-memes with the focus on political communication. The method of rhetorical analysis helps to uncover the manipulative potential of political Internet-memes and views such communication as an integral complex framework from the author’s intention regarding the speech act to the final influence on the target audience. Political Internet-meme is considered through the prism of the following parameters: (1) Ethos (i.e., contextual aspect): a) Status-role characteristics of the parties (the author, the distance, topic relevance), b) Type of communication, c) Theme; (2) Pathos: Intention, (2.1) Pathos - Ethos: a) Type of argumentation, b) Evaluating (evaluative point of view); (3) Logos: (3.1) Ethos - Logos: Author’s image of the genre, (3.2) Pathos - Logos: Textual aspect (topic elaboration, argumentation, style, composition etc.). The research outlines and describes features that characterize the structure of the political Internet meme ethos, pathos and logos as well as their inter-determination, thus making the Internet meme a powerful tool of public opinion management. Being a product of political public relations, political meme becomes a phenomenon of digital mass culture.