Famous and foe: Resistance and protection on social media – LGBTQ+ influencers’ responses to the attacks of an illiberal regime

Social media's value among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer+ (LGBTQ+) individuals can be especially significant in illiberal environments, where public service media are in the hands of anti-LGBTQ+ elites. Nevertheless, the digital media practices of marginalised groups under systemic siege, such as the Hungarian LGBTQ+ community, remain under-researched. This article addresses this gap by examining the social media usage of eight prominent Hungarian LGBTQ+ influencers via in-depth interviews conducted in 2024. Utilising concepts of cultural capital, power and resistance, and master and counter-narratives, the study reveals that while influencers’ social media activities vary, they consistently both work to educate their followers to resist the regime and employ self-censorship to protect their community. By outlining a dual-strategy framework of resistance and protection, illustrating how Hungarian LGBTQ+ influencers navigate illiberal pressures, this work offers novel contributions to scholarly understandings of sexual minorities’ digital tactics in such circumstances.