scholarly journals Flashback as a Rhetorical Online Battleground: Debating the (Dis)guise of the Nordic Resistance Movement

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 205630511882333 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helena Blomberg ◽  
Jonas Stier
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Discursive Psychology ◽  
Online Forum ◽  
True Nature ◽  
Social Actions ◽  
Truth Claims ◽  
The Right ◽  
Resistance Movement ◽  
Empirical Material

The right-wing Swedish Nordic Resistance Movement (NRM) is increasingly active on social media. Using discursive psychology, this text explores the rhetorical organization of text and rhetorical resources used on the Swedish online forum Flashback. The aim is to reveal and problematize truth claims about NRM made by antagonists and protagonists. Questions are (1) how and what do NRM antagonists and protagonists convey in Flashback posts about NRM, and its ideology and members? (2) how do NRM antagonists and protagonists make truth claims about NRM in Flashback posts? The empirical material consisting of 1546 Flashback posts analyzed to identify typical discussions on “NMR’s true nature”; accomplished social actions stemming from the posts. Findings show that the Flashback thread can be understood as being a rhetorical battle that concerns the “truth” about NRM, where a variety of rhetorical resources are used to render statements credibility and those involved legitimacy.

Lustration and Truth Claims: Unfinished Revolutions in Central Europe

1995 ◽  
Vol 20 (01) ◽  
pp. 117-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Łoś
Keyword(s):  
Transition To Democracy ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Power Structures ◽  
East European ◽  
The Past ◽  
Institutional Issues ◽  
Truth Claims ◽  
The Right ◽  
And Control

This article focuses on discourses conducted in Central/East European countries, and Poland in particular, with respect to the issue of participation of former secret agents in the new power structures. It exposes the reader to the range, style, content, and variety of lustration discourses. It explores their relevance for the ongoing power struggle, paying special attention to their focus on and contribution to the processes of construction and control of truth about the past. Given that the procedural and legal-institutional issues occupy a marginal place in the debate, it is inferred that the main sources of discord are more ideological and political than legal. The two main strains within the global lustration discourse are identified as: (1) dystopian discourses that paint a frightful picture of a lustrated society and imply that the upheaval of lustration would ruin the chance for democratic evolution, and (2) affirmative discourses that assert the need for lustration and portray the refusal to implement it as a barrier to successful transition to democracy. The article elaborates on assumptions and beliefs, which tend to link the dystopian opposition to lustration with the left-wing political affiliation or self-identification and the affirmative discourse with the right-wing orientation.

Affect, Animality, and Islamophobia

2017 ◽  
Vol 46 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 25-38
Author(s):  
Matthew Hotham
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Muslim Americans ◽  
White Supremacist ◽  
Dietary Restrictions ◽  
The Right ◽  
Affective Relations

American internet Islamophobia is fascinated with Muslim attitudes towards animals – especially pigs. Through an examination of internet memes found on right-wing and white supremacist websites and social media groups, this essay argues that affective relations to certain animals are part of what mark the Muslim as other and worthy of hate in American Islamophobic rhetoric. More importantly, this Islamophobic pig imagery, which often mischaracterizes or willfully misrepresents Muslim dietary restrictions, reveals that Islamophobic internet memes are not primarily aimed at Muslims nor are they first and foremost an expression of fear of Islam. Instead this Islamophobic rhetoric takes the form of an inside joke, affectively linking those who are “in” on the joke, uniting them in a jovial transgression of “politically correct" norms. This form of Islamophobia might be better termed “Islamophobophilia,” since it marks some Americans as insiders and others as outsiders. It is a method for non-Muslim Americans to signal to other other non-Muslim Americans that they are the right kind of American.

scholarly journals Social Media and the Emergence, Establishment and Transformation of the Right-Wing Populist Finns Party

Populism ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 121-139
Author(s):  
Tuukka Ylä-Anttila
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Political Identity ◽  
Political Engagement ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Attention Economy ◽  
Historical Trajectory ◽  
The Right ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Inside Out

Abstract This paper assesses the significance of social media for the Finns Party and the related anti-immigration movement from 2007 to the present day, in light of theories on the relationship of populism and social media. These include people-centrism, disenfranchisement, homophily, the attention economy, media elitism, and (lack of) communicative resources. Tracing the historical trajectory of the Finnish anti-immigration movement and the Finns Party, I argue that the Finnish case is an example of a movement being born online and using social media to build a political identity and strategically gain influence through a party, eventually transforming it from the inside out—rather than the party strategically using social media for its purposes, as is sometimes assumed in party-centric literature. While acknowledging the continued importance of parties, research on contemporary populist movements must take into account the political engagement of citizens facilitated by online media.

scholarly journals The Buddha’s Empirically Testable “Ten Criteria” Challenges the Authenticity of Truth Claims: A Critical Review and Its Potential Applicability to Debunking the Various Post-Truths

Religions ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 645
Author(s):  
Choi ◽  
Choo
Keyword(s):  
Modern Science ◽  
Digital Information ◽  
Pedagogical Approach ◽  
True Nature ◽  
Teacher Student ◽  
Personal Belief ◽  
Potential Applicability ◽  
Truth Claims ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Buddha

Modern readers who investigate religious theories and practices are exposed to diverse truth claims and worldviews. Such claims are often conflicting and subject the readers to various misconceptions and misguidance. In Buddhism, the Buddha is said to have awakened to the true nature of existence and attained final liberation from suffering, referred to as “enlightenment.” How was he able to convince his disciples of his self-claimed enlightenment? Can his reasoning be applied to modern readers, who are well-educated, but overloaded with the incessant proliferation of digital information? The Buddha, specifically in the Kālāma Sutta, presents empirically testable guidelines, termed the “Ten Criteria,” which were formulated as an integrated interplay of reasoning and morality. This essay examines the Buddha’s strategy, which is empirical and pragmatic in nature and embraces the fundamental principles of modern science. We contend that his proposed methodology is verifiably evocative of a moral discipline, while presenting a pedagogical approach to the teacher–student dynamic. Serving as a reference point, this view may help modern readers in differentiating the right truth from the biased post-truths, which appeal to emotion and personal belief.

Like & share if you agree

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 108-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Brindle ◽  
Corrie MacMillan
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Corpus Linguistics ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
True Nature ◽  
Nationalist Party ◽  
British People

Abstract This paper combines corpus linguistics and critical discourse analysis methodologies in order to investigate the discourses and cyber activism of the British right-wing nationalist party, Britain First. A study of a corpus of texts produced by elite members of the group reveals a racist, xenophobic stance which constructs Islam and Muslims as the radical, dangerous ‘Other’. This creates a discourse of fear that threatens the way of life of the indigenous in-group of the British people. An investigation of the cyber activity of the group demonstrates that Britain First is able to achieve a significant amount of following on social media by publishing populist material that veils their true nature or ideological stance.

scholarly journals A review of the fake news ecosystem in India and the need for the News Literacy project

2019 ◽  
pp. 23-29
Author(s):  
Kanchan Kaur
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Political Process ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Corporate Ownership ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Standing Up ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Government ◽  
News Literacy ◽  
The Right

In India, in the last year alone, over 30 people have died due to child kidnapping rumors spread on social media, specifically WhatsApp. India’s access to the internet shot up in the recent years with the entry of Reliance Jio which made data plans affordable and therefore accessible. WhatsApp has been the most frequently downloaded application. As the country gears up for an important election, the spread of disinformation has accelerated. The right-wing ruling party has claimed that it has over 3 million people in its WhatsApp groups. A recent study by BBC has shown that in the country, most of the disinformation has been spread by the right wing. Call it propaganda, disinformation or plain fake news, false or wrong information has become a part of the political process in India. Moreover, the Indian media no longer seem to be standing up to the government; in the last few years, it has generally toed the government line. The reasons are many, including corporate ownership, regressive laws, and a complete bypass of the media by the powers. The Prime Minister has spoken only to a few selected media houses and has never been asked any tough questions in his five-year tenure. Furthermore, the media has been completely sidelined by this government by it going to the public, directly through social media. All of this has produced a very turgid and messy information situation. With the government also interfering in education, it has become all the more difficult for most educators to introduce critical thinking courses in the country, even though various efforts have been made by Google News Initiative, Facebook and BBC Schools to introduce tools to debunk false information.

scholarly journals Empowering the People’s Truth Through Social Media? (De)Legitimizing Truth Claims of Populist Politicians and Citizens

2022 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Hameleers
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
The Netherlands ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Expert Knowledge ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
The Public ◽  
Truth Claims ◽  
Media Channels

Right-wing populists have allegedly fueled increasing levels of distrust regarding expert knowledge and empirical evidence. Yet, we know little about how right-wing populist politicians and citizens use social media to construct and oppose truth claims. Using a qualitative analysis of Twitter and Facebook posts communicated by right-wing populists and citizens supporting populist ideas in the Netherlands, this article offers in-depth insights into processes of legitimization (confirming truth claims) and de-legitimization (opposing truth claims). The main conclusion is that right-wing populists and citizens supporting populism do not share a universal way of referring to reality. They use social media to communicate a confirmation-biased reality: Expert knowledge and evidence are de-contextualized or reinterpreted and aligned with right-wing populist agendas. References to the people’s experiences and worldviews, conspiracy theories and crisis sentiments are used to legitimize people’s opposition to expert knowledge and empirical evidence. Based on these findings, we coin the idea of an “adaptable construction of confirmation-biased truth claims” central in right-wing populist interpretations of reality. In times of increasing attacks on expert knowledge and empirical evidence, populist discourse may fuel an antagonism between the ordinary people’s experiences and the truth claims of established media channels and politicians in government. Social media offer a platform to members of the public to engage in discussions about (un)truthfulness, perceived deception, and populist oppositions—potentially amplifying divides between the ordinary people’s experiences and expert sources.

What Is Urgent Publishing?

APRIA Journal ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 33-43
Author(s):  
Florian Cramer
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
The Other ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Political Debate ◽  
New Form ◽  
The One ◽  
The Right

Publishing is increasingly being challenged through instantaneous social media publish- ing, even in the fields of scholarship and cultural, philosophical and political debate. Memetic self-publishers, such as the right-wing 'YouTube intellectual' Jordan Peterson and his left-wing counterpart Natalie Wynn, seem to tap into urgent needs that traditional publishing fails to identify and address. Does their practice amount to a new form of urgent publishing? How is it different from non-urgent publishing on the one hand and from propaganda on the other? Which urgencies can be addressed by urgent publishing? What is the role of artists and designers in it?

Trump, Right-Wing Populism, and the Future of Organized Labor

2020 ◽  
pp. 50-66
Author(s):  
Bill Fletcher ◽  
José Alejandro La Luz
Keyword(s):  
Black People ◽  
Job Insecurity ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
True Nature ◽  
Self Interest ◽  
The Media ◽  
Right Wing Populism ◽  
The Rich ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Impact

This chapter argues that the core problem is not ideology or corporate self-interest but rather the rise of a right-wing populism that feeds on racism and xenophobia. When workers suffer from stagnating or declining incomes, loss of benefits and pensions, declining health and health care coverage, and increased job insecurity, the right gives them an answer: blame black people, Latinxs, immigrants, Jews, or Muslims; blame the media elites, academics, or experts, not your employer; embrace the rich in the hope that someday you can be one of them; and condemn powerless people as the cause of your problems. The chapter describes how populism draws its energy from a racist, sexist, and xenophobic framing of the impact of the economic crisis on working-class Americans while also rejecting the postwar global order in favor of a return to American isolationism. It laments the Left's failure to offer plausible solutions and to create lasting solidarity across gender, race, ethnicity, and sexuality. This chapter explains that no revival of labor will be possible without engaging union members about race, gender, immigration, and the true nature of right-wing populism.

Zorba Abandoned, Theodorakis Plays On

Worldview ◽  
1973 ◽  
Vol 16 (10) ◽  
pp. 13-19
Author(s):  
Stephen Rousseas
Keyword(s):  
Early Morning ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Youth Movement ◽  
The Right ◽  
Resistance Movement

The colonels’ coup in Greece on April 21, 1967, caught everyone by ṡurprise - the Right, the Center and the Left. Mikis Theodorakis, Greece's most gifted popular composer and maverick political “revolutionary,” was tipped off by a right-wing journalist who telephoned him in the early morning hours of the coup. He went immediately into hiding and started organizing the Patriotic Front, a left-wing resistance movement based on the Lambrakis Youth Movement, of which he was the founder and president.

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