The Role of Right-Wing Alternative Media in the Nordic Media Systems

The growing popularity of right-wing political forces in recent years is accompanied by an increased public interest in alt-right media. In the Nordic media systems, the alt-right has been shaped by right-wing political populism and aims to criticize migration policies. Due to the fact that alternative media have historically been studied by scholars using leftist theories, the alt-right has been labeled as deviant and marginalized community. Using critical discourse analysis, the paper analyzes the self-presentation of alt-right media in Norway, Sweden and Denmark and then juxtaposes these projects with mainstream media through a political economy framework. The result shows that the alt-right group is diverse, while modern Nordic media systems are increasingly composed of polarized and radicalized media. This trend indicates that alt-right projects may soon become a threat to the democratic regimes of welfare states.