Populist communication styles are widespread in extremist online videos. The study by Dr Josephine B. Schmitt (CAIS) and Dr Julia R. Winkler (Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg) analyses how right-wing extremist and Islamist actors on YouTube use populist communication elements to convince users of their ideologies. Of the 51 videos analysed, around 30 percent contained populist core elements, with the two groups differing only minimally in their communication style. The study therefore provides a valuable basis for deriving cross-phenomenon prevention and intervention measures.
Citation: Schmitt, J. B. & Winkler, J. R. (2024) Populist voices in extremist online videos – a content analysis of right-wing extremist and Islamist YouTube videos, ZRex – Zeitschrift für Rechtsextremismusforschung, 2-2024, pp. 209-229. https://doi.org/10.3224/zrex.v4i2.05