Analysing Rhetorics and Persuasion in Digital Spaces: A Study of BBC Africa Eye's Inside the Kidnapper's Den Documentary on Youtube

Documentary films are powerful mediums for exploring social issues and raising awareness, with rhetorical and persuasive strategies playing a crucial role in shaping its interpretations. This study investigated the rhetorical and persuasive strategies employed in the BBC Africa Eye's Inside Nigeria's Kidnap Crises documentary, accessed through YouTube digital viewing platform. Using the Social Responsibility theory as a framework, the study adopted a content analysis methodology to extract and analyse key rhetorical aspects, including Pathos (emotional appeals), Logos (logical reasoning), and Ethos (credibility and authority). The findings revealed that the documentary's rhetorical strategies are characterised by a dominant use of Pathos, extracted through victim testimonies and interviews that elicit empathy and shock. The documentary also strategically deploys Ethos, derived from the BBC's investigative journalism and on-the-ground reporting, lending credibility to the narrative. Furthermore, Logos is employed through evidence-based arguments grounded in reported facts and statistics, creating emotional resonance. This study highlighted the effective use of rhetorical and persuasive strategies in digital documentary filmmaking, particularly in the context of online digital platforms like YouTube. The findings recommended prioritising human-centric story-telling and investigative depth in documentary filmmaking to construct empathy and understanding. Digital platforms like YouTube are veritable channels of documentary productions.