Media Populism on the Example of Right-Wing Political Parties’ Communication in Slovenia

Abstract

Studies on mediatization have pointed to the “collateralism” of media and politics, a model that emphasizes reciprocal media–politics interactions. This article discusses how various political parties, and in particular right-wing populist parties in the post-socialist Slovenian context, use communication tools on the Internet; to what extent they enable participatory communication; and how they open up to forms of “media populism.” In what ways do right-wing populist parties make use of social media as a megaphone for their positions, to promote their charismatic leaders, to disseminate their “othering” ideologies, and to spread the “politics of fear”? The analysis enables us to detect media populism across the political spectrum, and in particular to theorize contemporary features of right-wing media populism.