Paradoxical populism: how PEGIDA relates to mainstream and alternative media

Abstract

The distrust of mainstream media expressed in the slogan 'the liar press' ('Lügenpresse') is often used as an example of a populist, anti-establishment attitude that is currently winning terrain throughout the Western world. In combination with the rise of alternative media (especially online), it poses a serious challenge for 'old media'. But how do those who are most suspicious and critical relate to the mainstream media in their own media channels? In this article, we have compared the official Facebook pages of the PEGIDA movement in Germany and Austria, in order to describe their use of references to traditional/mainstream and alternative media. The results indicate that references to mainstream and alternative media are distributed almost equally. Furthermore, when there are references to mainstream media, they are generally of an affirmative nature. These findings are relevant for the debate about cyberbalcanization, echo chambers, filter bubbles and the impact of alternative media on public discourse.

Key Dimensions of Alternative News Media

“…Other alternative news media and movements, such as for example Pegida, largely rely on and reframe mainstream news media and news agency content (Haller & Holt, 2018). Today, alternative news is primarily distributed in social, networked media, where opinionated, emotional and visually striking content, is widely shared (i.e.…”

“…First, we argue that the academic and popular debate regarding whether such right-wing media (from radical right to extreme right) can be conceptualized as alternative, and the flourishing of related terms such as hyper-partisan media, makes the implicit normative perception of 'alternative media' visible. Second, studies have shown that far-right online media (and other new media initiatives) often employ similar discursive strategies on power, hegemony and resistance as other alternative media, positioning themselves as 'outsiders' and 'critics', marginalized by and in opposition to 'the mainstream media hegemony' (Haller & Holt, 2018;Figenschou & Ihlebaek, 2018). Because contemporary rightwing alternative media both rely on and strategically use the same counter-hegemonic discourses as other alternative news media, we argue that it is fruitful to study and theorize these new phenomena in relation to the extant body of literature.…”

Strategic Framing and Social Media Engagement: Analyzing Memes Posted by the German Identitarian Movement on Facebook

“…The authors showed that the GIM predominantly uses a nationalistic rhetoric, directed against immigrants, refugees, and a multicultural society. In addition, there is research focusing on similar movements in Germany and elsewhere, such as the German Patriotic Europeans against the Islamization of the Occident (e.g., Haller & Holt, 2019;Schmidt, 2017) or the Flemish Schild & Vrienden movement (Maly, 2019). Furthermore, many research studies focus on right-wing parties and, for instance, analyze how they frame ethno-pluralism (Elgenius & Rydgren, 2019).…”

Boundary Work: Intermedia Agenda-Setting Between Right-Wing Alternative Media and Professional Journalism

“…Empirical studies in the Scandinavian context have demonstrated an orientation towards populist anti-immigration, anti-elite and anti-system sentiments (Haller and Holt 2018), and their core message is that the mainstream media together with the political elite conceal or distort information about the negative cultural and societal consequences of immigration (Haller and Holt 2018). Generally, the scholarly literature highlights that these outlets blur the boundaries between objective news reporting and commentaries (Holt 2016b;Nygaard 2019) and that they reject or have an unclear relationship with press ethics and editorial responsibilities (Holt 2016a;Sandberg and Ihlebaek 2019).…”

“…This study examines and compares intermedia agenda-setting between Norwegian, Swedish and Danish right-wing alternative media outlets and mainstream online newspapers. Right-wing alternative media typically question and challenge journalistic authority (Figenschou and Ihlebaek 2018), and their core message is that the mainstream media conceal or distort information about the negative consequences of immigration (Haller and Holt 2018). These outlets also have a strong resentment towards professional journalistic ethics and norms (Holt 2016a).…”