Freedom of speech on social media - And its role in the rise of the ‘far right’ in European politics.

2. FREEDOM OF SPEECH ON SOCIAL MEDIA IN EUROPE
GERMANY, ITALY
FRANCE, THE UK
AND HUNGARY
ARE ALL “FREE”
SOCIAL MEDIA
COUNTRIES.
THEY DO NOT
BLOCK SOCIAL
OR POLITICAL
CONTENT ON
THE INTERNET.
SOURCE:
FREEDOM HOUSE

3. THE INCREASING POPULARITY OF SOCIAL
MEDIA AS A NEWS SOURCE IN EUROPE
PEOPLE IN EUROPE ARE INCREASINGLY USING
SOCIAL MEDIA AS A NEWS SOURCE.
ON AVERAGE, MORE THAN HALF OF THE EUROPEANS
SURVEYED ACCESS NEWS ON SOCIAL MEDIA,
INCLUDING OVER 40% WHO DO SO DAILY.
THE PROPORTION OF PEOPLE WHO GET THEIR
NEWS VIA SOCIAL MEDIA IS GREATER AMONGST
PEOPLE WHO IDENTIFY AS POPULIST RIGHT-WING
VOTERS.
SURVEY CONDUCTED IN 2017 BY THE PEW
RESEARCH CENTER.

4. THE USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA BY POLITICAL
PARTIES AND ACTIVISTS
SOCIAL MEDIA IS FREQUENTLY USED TO MOBILISE AN IDEOLOGICAL OR POLITICAL MOVEMENT, AS IT
PROVIDES A PLATFORM FOR A POLITICAL PARTY OR ACTIVIST TO DISSEMINATE THEIR MESSAGE
INSTANTANEOUSLY AND TO A GLOBAL AUDIENCE.
‘HASHTAG ACTIVISM’ IS A CONCEPT THAT ALLOWS FOR A POLITICAL OR IDEOLOGICAL MOVEMENT TO BE
COMMUNICATED VIA SOCIAL MEDIA USING KEY WORDS OR PHRASES (”TAGS”) SO THAT THE MEDIA CAN BE
EASILY SEARCHED FOR AND IDENTIFIED. THIS MEANS THAT THE MESSAGE IS MORE LIKELY TO REACH ITS
TARGET AUDIENCE; PARTICULARLY ANYONE WITH A SIMILAR POLITICAL IDEOLOGY.
THE INTERNET IS AN EFFECTIVE TOOL OF COMMUNICATION FOR POLITICAL ACTIVISTS BECAUSE IT CAN
“BYPASS GOVERNMENT CONTROLS AND MASS MEDIA GATEKEEPERS” (CROESER, 2012).

5. WHAT IS THE ‘FAR RIGHT’?
THE FAR RIGHT IS A FORM OF RIGHT-WING POPULISM WHICH ESPOUSES EXTREME NATIONALISM AND
ANTI-IMMIGRATION IDEOLOGY.
IT IS FURTHER TO THE RIGHT OF THE POLITICAL SPECTRUM THAN COMMON RIGHT-WING
CONSERVATISM.
THE FAR RIGHT IS OFTEN ASSOCIATED WITH NAZISM, NEO-NAZISM AND FASCISM.
EUROPEAN FAR RIGHT PARTIES FOCUS ON ISSUES SUCH AS PREVENTING IMMIGRATION AND THE
INCREASING ‘ISLAMISATION’ OF EUROPE, REGAINING COUNTRIES’ NATIONAL IDENTITIES, AND
ADDRESSING THE FAILURES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION AND ITS NATIONS’ LIBERAL POLICIES.

6. THE INCREASING POPULARITY OF
EUROPEAN ‘FAR RIGHT’ PARTIES
SUPPORT FOR POPULIST, FAR RIGHT
POLITICAL PARTIES IN EUROPE IS AT ITS
HIGHEST POINT IN THE LAST 30 YEARS.
FAR RIGHT PARTIES WON 16% OF THE
OVERALL VOTE IN THE MOST RECENT
NATIONAL ELECTIONS OF EACH EUROPEAN
COUNTRY - UP FROM 11% IN 2007 AND
ONLY 5% IN 1997.
STATISTICS COURTESY OF BLOOMBERG
AND BBC.

7. SOCIAL MEDIA AND THE POLARISATION OF
EUROPEAN POLITICS
THE FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION ALLOWED BY SOCIAL MEDIA AND THE ABILITY OF POLITICAL PARTIES TO
BYPASS THE TRADITIONAL CONTROLLED MEDIA HAS RESULTED IN THE POLARISATION OF POLITICAL
IDEOLOGIES THROUGHOUT EUROPE.
SCHOLARS HAVE ACCUSED DIGITAL AND SOCIAL MEDIA OF “SPREADING FEAR, ANGER AND
DISINFORMATION TO PUBLICS UPROOTED FROM THE ONCE CENTERING WORLD OF OFFICIAL FACTS AND
INFORMATION GATEKEEPERS” (BENNETT, 2017).
IT IS CONTENDED THAT RADICAL PARTIES, SUCH AS THOSE ON THE FAR RIGHT, USE SOCIAL MEDIA TO
MOBILISE PUBLIC ANGER BY SPREADING ‘FAKE NEWS’ AND CONDEMNING THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA.

8. CASE STUDY I: THE ‘AfD’ PARTY IN GERMANY
ALTERNATIVE FOR GERMANY (“THE AfD”) IS A FAR RIGHT POLITICAL PARTY IN GERMANY FOUNDED IN
2013 IN OPPOSITION TO THE COUNTRY’S PRESENCE IN THE EUROPEAN UNION.
THE PARTY HAS SINCE CHANGED ITS PRIMARY FOCUS TO BEING ANTI-IMMIGRATION.
AS OF SEPTEMBER 2018, THE AfD IS THE SECOND MOST POPULAR PARTY IN GERMANY, RECORDING 18%
OF THE POPULAR VOTE IN THE MOST RECENT POLL CONDUCTED BY PUBLIC BROADCASTER ARD.
THIS IS UP FROM THE 12.6% TOTAL VOTE THAT THE AfD RECORDED AT THE 2017 GERMAN FEDERAL
ELECTION, AT WHICH IT GAINED 94 SEATS IN THE BUNDESTAG AFTER FAILING TO WIN ANY SEATS IN 2013.

9. CASE STUDY I: THE ‘AfD’ PARTY IN GERMANY
THE AfD’S RISE HAS PARTLY BEEN ATTRIBUTED TO THEIR
“CLEVER” USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA TO ENGAGE GERMAN VOTERS.
THE PARTY USES SOCIAL MEDIA TO LIVE STREAM EVENTS, SHARE
PARLIAMENTARY SPEECHES, AND PUBLICISE ANY
CONFRONTATIONS THEIR MEMBERS HAVE WITH OTHER PARTIES.
THEY HAVE ADMITTED TO A STRATEGY OF “CAREFULLY PLANNED
PROVOCATIONS” ONLINE REGARDING POLITICALLY SENSITIVE
ISSUES (DER SPIEGEL, 2018).
A STUDY FOUND THAT ANTI-IMMIGRATIONPOSTS BY THE AfD ON
FACEBOOK LED TO A 13% INCREASE IN ANTI-REFUGEE ATTACKS.

10. CASE STUDY II: THE IDENTITARIAN MOVEMENT
THE IDENTITARIAN MOVEMENT IS A FAR RIGHT YOUTH
MOVEMENT THAT HAS EMERGED AND RAPIDLY GROWN IN
EUROPE OVER THE PAST FIVE YEARS.
IDENTITARIANS TARGET THE YOUTH DEMOGRAPHIC BY
POSTING CAMPAIGNS AND ‘STUNTS’ ON SOCIAL MEDIA THAT
PROTEST THE LOSS OF EUROPE’S CULTURAL IDENTITY.
THE IDENTITARIAN SOCIAL NETWORK IS DESIGNED TO LINK
PEOPLE WITH LIKE-MINDED IDEOLOGIES ALL OVER EUROPE.
VIDEO EXCERPT TAKEN FROM SBS DATELINE: ‘YOUNG, HIP
AND FAR RIGHT.’ TO VIEW THE ENTIRE STORY, CLICK HERE.

11. WHAT CAN BE DONE?
IT IS “REMARKABLY TRICKY” TO PUT LEGISLATIVE RESTRAINTS ON PEOPLE’S FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND
EXPRESSION ON SOCIAL MEDIA (STEPPE, 2015).
SOCIAL MEDIA SITES WILL OFTEN REGULATE MATERIAL BASED ON THEIR TERMS OF SERVICE, HOWEVER AS THEY
ARE BUSINESSES, THEY ARE OFTEN RELUCTANT TO INFRINGE ON THEIR USERS’ FREEDOMS.
FREEDOM OF SPEECH AT LAW IS ONLY RESTRICTED IN EXTREME CIRCUMSTANCES, SUCH AS FOR ILLEGAL
CONTENT, THREATS TO NATIONAL SECURITY OR AN INFRINGEMENT ON OTHERS’ RIGHTS.
THE GERMAN FEDERAL OFFICE FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE CONSTITUTION (“BfV”) CANNOT PUT THE AfD UNDER
OFFICIAL OBSERVATION UNLESS THE AfD IS “SEEKING TO OVERTHROW THE DEMOCRATIC SYSTEM”, WHICH IS YET
TO BE ESTABLISHED.
THE IDENTITARIANS ARE, HOWEVER, CURRENTLY UNDER SURVEILLANCE.

12. REFERENCES
AISCH, G., PEARCE, A., & ROUSSEAU, B. (2017). HOW FAR IS EUROPE SWINGING TO THE RIGHT?. THE NEW YORK TIMES. RETRIEVED
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BEAUFORT, M. (2018). DIGITAL MEDIA, POLITICAL POLARIZATION AND CHALLENGES TO DEMOCRACY, INFORMATION,
COMMUNICATION & SOCIETY, 21(7), 915-920. HTTPS://DOI.ORG/10.1080/1369118X.2018.1451909
BENNETT, L. W., & SEGERBERG, A. (2012). THE LOGIC OF CONNECTIVE ACTION: THE PERSONALIZATION OF CONTENTIOUS POLITICS,
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CROESER, S. (2012). CONTESTED TECHNOLOGIES: THE EMERGENCE OF THE DIGITAL LIBERTIES MOVEMENT. FIRST MONDAY, 17(8).
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13. FREEDOM HOUSE. (2017). FREEDOM ON THE NET. MANIPULATING SOCIAL MEDIA TO UNDERMINE DEMOCRACY. RETRIEVED FROM
HTTPS://FREEDOMHOUSE.ORG/SITES/DEFAULT/FILES/FOTN_2017_FINAL.PDF
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[VIDEO FILE]. SBS DATELINE. RETRIEVED FROM HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=F5EQ-4XEAKK