ANALYZING DIGITAL POLARIZATION ON HIJAB: A DATASET OF ANNOTATED YOUTUBE COMMENTS

Abstract

This thesis presents a pioneering analysis of digital polarization on the topic of Hijab by examining YouTube comments from the Arab world. Employing a novel dataset of around 10K annotated comments, this research investigates the digital discourse using seven labels: Stance, Use of Sarcasm, Argumentation, Cordiality, Offensiveness, Hopefulness, and Apparent Gender of Commenters. The findings reveal significant insights into gender dynamics and the prevalence of specific rhetorical strategies within the debate. This study contributes to the broader field of polarization and argument mining, offering a unique lens on the intersection of digital culture and societal issues in the Arab context. Keywords: Argumentation, Islam, annotation guidelines, Arabic NLP, digital discourse, online polarization

Date of Award	2024
Original language	American English
Awarding Institution	HBKU College of Humanities and Social Science