Online Antagonism of the Alt-Right in the 2016 Election

: Heikkilä Niko

Publisher: European Association for American Studies

: 2017

: European Journal of American Studies

: EJAS

: 5

: 12

: 2

: 22

: 1991-9336

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/ejas.12140

: http://ejas.revues.org/12140

: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/27225281

Buoyed by the populist campaign of Donald
Trump, the “alt-right,” a loose political movement based around
right-wing ideologies, emerged as an unexpected and highly contentious
actor during the election cycle. The alt-right promoted controversy
through provocative online actions that drew a considerable amount of
media attention. This article focuses on the role of the “alt-right” in
the 2016 election by examining its visual and rhetorical efforts to
engage the political mainstream in relation to the campaigns of Donald
Trump and Hillary Clinton. In particular, the alt-right’s unique style
and internal jargon created notable confusion and also attracted
interest by the media, while its promotional tactics included the use of
social media and Internet memes, through which the movement came to
epitomize online antagonism in the 2016 election.

ejas-12140.pdf