Populism in the era of Twitter: How social media contextualized new insights into an old phenomenon

Abstract

With the advent of social media, political communication scholars have systematically revised theories and empirical corollaries revolving media use and democracy at large. Interestingly, in about the same period of time, a reinvigorated political populism trend has taken place across different latitudes in the world. This widespread populist movement has expanded regardless of whether these political systems were established democracies, emerging democracies, or societies immersed in political contexts at peril. This essay serves as the introductory piece to a special issue on populism. First, it highlights the ways in which “populism,” being an old phenomenon, has further transpired into the political realm in the era of social media. Second, the essay seeks to better contextualize what populism is and how it has developed within today’s hybrid media society. Finally, this introduction also lays out the ground to six central theoretical and data-driven papers that encapsulate many of the important issues revolving the phenomenon of populism today.

Partisan public health: how does political ideology influence support for COVID-19 related misinformation?

“…Twitter in particular has also become a predominant space for populist messaging [ 12 ]. The democratization of information and the availability of social media platforms as nonhierarchical spaces for information distribution supports anti-elite populist messaging, particularly among extremist political groups [ 13 ].…”

“…To the detriment of both political discourse and public health, populist surges have made truth increasingly irrelevant and accelerated the spread of misinformation [ 12 , 18 ]. As Ribeiro, Calais, Almeida, and Meira Jr. put it, these days “everything I disagree with is #FakeNews” [ 19 ].…”

Mobile phones in the spread of unreliable information on Twitter: evidence from the 2017 French presidential campaign

“…This over-representation reveals the importance of taking into account the diversity of the political communities in the study of disinformation, by showing how the disinformation phenomenon mainly concerns a “niche of disloyal groups” (Nelson & Taneja, 2018), i.e., the French far-right political party (FN). By neglecting to differentiate, according to political affiliation, such practices concerning the sharing of unreliable sources on Twitter, some research tends to overlook this decisive factor of the populism on Twitter (Gil de Zúñiga et al, 2020). Such consideration is all the more important because, as is shown, taking the political community into account serves to explain how mobile phones can influence human behavior in a specific way, related to the political opinions and sociological profiles of users.…”

Remaking “the people”: Immigrant farmworkers, environmental justice and the rise of environmental populism in California's San Joaquin Valley

“…Ideational theories of “populism” help to explain patterns despite variations in form and ideology ( Hawkins and Littvay, 2019 ; Mudde , 2019). Scholars observe direct expression of “the people's” will against (an) establishment and/or elite opponent(s) ( Gil de Zúñiga et al, 2020 ; Laclau, 2005 ). Populist movements exert and gain power through new or existing political parties, often shifting, transforming, constricting and/or expanding the terrain of political society.…”

“…Recent scholarship has associated an affinity for Trump's authoritarianism among segments of white America with the repercussions of neoliberal austerity, global trade and corporate flight on rural places (Edelman, this issue; Gandesha, 2018 ; Gil de Zúñiga et al, 2020 ; Skocpol and Williamson, 2012 ). While illuminating critical aspects of why rural people and places matter, the focus on conservatism has obscured progressive rural trends that have developed simultaneously.…”