Making or faking depolarization? The anti-populist parties’ construction of the populism/anti-populism divide on social media in the Czech Republic
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| Year of publication | 2024 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
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| Description | Populism has gained significant attention recently, yet there is less understanding of strategies to confront it. This study focuses on the communication of these reactions by examining the populism/anti-populism divide created by populist parties' challengers. Anti-populists present themselves as an antithesis of populism, offering an alternative to populism by constructing two identities: populist identity ('them'), and anti-populist identity ('us'). While anti-populism is argued to be depolarizing, based on civility, calmness, and knowledge, populism is portrayed as polarizing, using emotional and irrational language. However, we know little about the content of these identities and how these identities are presented stylistically. This study examines the content of the populism/anti-populism divide in the messages of anti-populist actors and its association with specific communication style. Our study utilizes a quantitative content analysis of an original dataset of posts on Facebook and Instagram (n=1,291) before the 2021 elections in Czechia, along with an automated frequency analysis of anti-populists' posts (n=44,877) from September 2017 to December 2021. Our results suggest that the divide was increasingly present in the anti-populists' messages, and it was associated with the strategic use of appeals to negativity, emotions, knowledge, and rationality. This indicates that even though anti-populists claim their rational and fact-based approach, the style of their communication reveals an emotional component, contributing to the overall level of polarization. |
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