This study examines contemporary UK public attitudes toward immigration by situating them within recent fluctuations in the salience of migration and borders - both territorial and discursive - and by analysing social media reactions to migration related news. A 2025 briefing by the Migration Observatory highlighted shifting levels of public concern over immigration, noting that while the issue dominated the national agenda in the year preceding the 2016 Brexit Referendum, it declined significantly after the vote. Concern rose again in late 2022, peaking in October 2024, when immigration, along with debates on the control and management of national borders, re emerged as one of the UK’s most pressing issues. This return to ‘border talk’ was mirrored in news coverage and political debate. Against this backdrop, the present study investigates migration related news published by three major British tabloids - the Daily Mail, the Daily Express, and the Daily Mirror - chosen for their cultural and political relevance and their high circulation rates in 2025. Considering the central role of social media in news dissemination, the analysis focuses specifically on the tabloids’ Facebook posts, which function as interactive spaces where readers comment, react, and negotiate meaning, reinforcing symbolic boundaries. Such engagement provides insight into how linguistic practices on social media contribute to shaping public discourse and power relations by enacting bordering practices. A corpus of Facebook comments responding to migration related posts was collected between January 25 and June 25, 2025, and analysed with the adoption of an integrated approach combining Critical Discourse Studies and Corpus Linguistics, enabling both qualitative and quantitative analysis. Through the examination of lexical patterns and figurative language, the research uncovers recurring attitudes, evaluative stances, and discursive constructions that shed light on how readers conceptualise migration, migrants, and the idea of borders in contemporary UK public debate.
Negotiating Borders in the Post-Brexit UK: A CADS Analysis of British Tabloids’ Readers’ Comments on Facebook
Nisco, Maria Cristina
;Raffone, Annalisa
2026-01-01
Abstract
This study examines contemporary UK public attitudes toward immigration by situating them within recent fluctuations in the salience of migration and borders - both territorial and discursive - and by analysing social media reactions to migration related news. A 2025 briefing by the Migration Observatory highlighted shifting levels of public concern over immigration, noting that while the issue dominated the national agenda in the year preceding the 2016 Brexit Referendum, it declined significantly after the vote. Concern rose again in late 2022, peaking in October 2024, when immigration, along with debates on the control and management of national borders, re emerged as one of the UK’s most pressing issues. This return to ‘border talk’ was mirrored in news coverage and political debate. Against this backdrop, the present study investigates migration related news published by three major British tabloids - the Daily Mail, the Daily Express, and the Daily Mirror - chosen for their cultural and political relevance and their high circulation rates in 2025. Considering the central role of social media in news dissemination, the analysis focuses specifically on the tabloids’ Facebook posts, which function as interactive spaces where readers comment, react, and negotiate meaning, reinforcing symbolic boundaries. Such engagement provides insight into how linguistic practices on social media contribute to shaping public discourse and power relations by enacting bordering practices. A corpus of Facebook comments responding to migration related posts was collected between January 25 and June 25, 2025, and analysed with the adoption of an integrated approach combining Critical Discourse Studies and Corpus Linguistics, enabling both qualitative and quantitative analysis. Through the examination of lexical patterns and figurative language, the research uncovers recurring attitudes, evaluative stances, and discursive constructions that shed light on how readers conceptualise migration, migrants, and the idea of borders in contemporary UK public debate.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
