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Post-Truth Politics, Digital Media, and the Politicization of the Global Compact for Migration
[journal article]
Abstract The debate over the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) in late 2018 showcases the crucial role of digital and, in particular, social media as vehicles of disinformation that populist actors can exploit in an effort to create resentment and fear in the public sphere. While m... view more
The debate over the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) in late 2018 showcases the crucial role of digital and, in particular, social media as vehicles of disinformation that populist actors can exploit in an effort to create resentment and fear in the public sphere. While mainstream political actors and legacy media initially did not address the issue, right-wing populist actors claimed ownership by framing (presumably obligatory) mass immigration as a matter of social, cultural, economic, and not least political risk, and created an image of political and cultural elites conspiring to keep the issue out of the public sphere. Initially advanced via digital and social media, such frames resonated sufficiently strongly in civil society to politicize the GCM in various national public spheres. In this article, these dynamics are explored by comparing the politicization of the GCM in three EU member states, namely Germany, Austria, and Sweden. Using a process-tracing design, the article (a) identifies the key actors in the process, (b) analyzes how the issue emerged in social and other digital media and travelled from digital media into mainstream mass media discourse, and finally (c) draws comparative conclusions from the three analyzed cases. Particular emphasis is placed on the frames used by right-wing populist actors, how these frames resonated in the wider public sphere and thereby generated communicative power against the GCM, ultimately forcing the issue onto the agenda of national public spheres and political institutions.... view less
Keywords
migration policy; international agreement; social media; digital media; false report; disinformation; populism
Classification
Migration, Sociology of Migration
Free Keywords
Global Compact for Migration; communicative power; digital media; frame analysis; populism; public sphere
Document language
English
Publication Year
2021
Page/Pages
p. 301-311
Journal
Politics and Governance, 9 (2021) 3
Issue topic
Reactionary Politics and Resentful Affect in Populist Times
ISSN
2183-2463
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed