Bridging gaps in image meme research: A multidisciplinary paradigm

This paper presents a multidisciplinary framework, the Digital Rhetorical Ecosystem (DRE3), for scaling up qualitative analyses of image memes, examining them as quasi-arguments that influence public narratives on political and social issues. It integrates rhetorical analysis with ecological frameworks and computational methods to address the identification of claims in memes, bridging qualitative and quantitative research approaches.