Digital media and the entrenchment of right-wing populist agendas

Since Brexit and the election of President Donald Trump, news media around the world have given extensive coverage to the issue of disinformation and polarization. This paper argues that while the negative effects of social media have dominated the discussion, these effects do not address how right-...

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Manylion Llyfryddiaeth
Prif Awdur: Schroeder, R
Fformat: Journal article
Iaith:English
Cyhoeddwyd: SAGE Publications 2019
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author Schroeder, R
author_facet Schroeder, R
author_sort Schroeder, R
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description Since Brexit and the election of President Donald Trump, news media around the world have given extensive coverage to the issue of disinformation and polarization. This paper argues that while the negative effects of social media have dominated the discussion, these effects do not address how right-wing populists have been able successfully and legitimately to use digital media to circumvent traditional media. The paper uses the United States and Sweden as case studies about how digital media have helped to achieve electoral success and shift the political direction in both countries - though in quite different ways. It also argues that the sources of right-wing populism go beyond the hitherto dominant left-right political divide, capturing anti-elite sentiment and promoting exclusionary nationalism. The dominance of the issue of media manipulation has obscured the shift whereby the relation between the media and politics has become more fluid and antagonistic, which fits the populist agenda. This shift requires a rethinking of political communication that includes both the social forces that give rise to populism and the alternative digital channels that entrench them, with implications for the prospects of the role of media in politics in the two countries and beyond.
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spelling oxford-uuid:be4b58fb-ebef-4d5c-bb7a-6e6370ad76dd2022-03-27T05:38:18ZDigital media and the entrenchment of right-wing populist agendasJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:be4b58fb-ebef-4d5c-bb7a-6e6370ad76ddEnglishSymplectic Elements at OxfordSAGE Publications2019Schroeder, RSince Brexit and the election of President Donald Trump, news media around the world have given extensive coverage to the issue of disinformation and polarization. This paper argues that while the negative effects of social media have dominated the discussion, these effects do not address how right-wing populists have been able successfully and legitimately to use digital media to circumvent traditional media. The paper uses the United States and Sweden as case studies about how digital media have helped to achieve electoral success and shift the political direction in both countries - though in quite different ways. It also argues that the sources of right-wing populism go beyond the hitherto dominant left-right political divide, capturing anti-elite sentiment and promoting exclusionary nationalism. The dominance of the issue of media manipulation has obscured the shift whereby the relation between the media and politics has become more fluid and antagonistic, which fits the populist agenda. This shift requires a rethinking of political communication that includes both the social forces that give rise to populism and the alternative digital channels that entrench them, with implications for the prospects of the role of media in politics in the two countries and beyond.
spellingShingle Schroeder, R
Digital media and the entrenchment of right-wing populist agendas
title Digital media and the entrenchment of right-wing populist agendas
title_full Digital media and the entrenchment of right-wing populist agendas
title_fullStr Digital media and the entrenchment of right-wing populist agendas
title_full_unstemmed Digital media and the entrenchment of right-wing populist agendas
title_short Digital media and the entrenchment of right-wing populist agendas
title_sort digital media and the entrenchment of right wing populist agendas
work_keys_str_mv AT schroederr digitalmediaandtheentrenchmentofrightwingpopulistagendas