Thread by @docrussjackson

#THREAD

#Britain is becoming a brutal, regressive, intolerant, hard-right, antidemocratic, authoritarian state, run by Christo-xenophobic nationalists, who represent powerful corporate interests. Their cheerleaders meet in London in May.

What's their strategy & ultimate goal?

Moreover, the limitations of message control will be discussed in times of social media and multiple public spaces. Obviously, an effective top-down control of media proves impossible in liberal democracies.

In 1970, Herbert Marcuse wrote in his preface to the second edition of Prophets of Deceit, Leo Löwenthal and Norbert Guterman’s seminal study on the main characteristics, performance, and effects of virulent demagogy originally published in the aftermath of World War Two:

“The demarcation line between the outsider agitator and the legitimate politician, between the extreme right and the center [is] being blurred (if not obliterated). Today, we recognize the essential features of the agitator as those of the political Establishment.”

Marcuse echoes Theodor W. Adorno’s 1969 statement that:

“[t]he calculated influence of agitators on the ‘lunatic fringe’ is by no means the only and probably not even the most important objective factor promoting a fascistically inclined mentality among the masses”.

Indeed, Adorno claims that the opinions of such demagogues “occur in considerable measure in the utterances of so-called ‘respectable’ people, only not as succinctly and aggressively formulated”.

Both Marcuse and Adorno were referring to the US-politics and media during the Vietnam War, thus to phenomena pertaining to postwar democratic systems and not to the totalitarian regimes and their leaders as originally analyzed by Löwenthal and Guterman.

Nevertheless, these poignant insights remain relevant to scholars who are investigating the ‘(shameless) normalization’, ‘recontextualization’, ‘contagion’, and ‘mainstreaming’ of far-right and extreme-right tropes, arguments, topics, and agendas in liberal democracies.

In illiberal democracies, most breaches of the constitutional order, such as freedom of opinion, assembly, the press, and independence of the legal system (as are occurring especially in Poland and Hungary), are usually not announced explicitly.

Indeed, as Fournier maintains, “[t]he populist rhetoric manipulates the rule of law and the majoritarian pillars of constitutional democracy by convincing a fictional majority that constitutional democracy gives rise to a tyranny of minorities”.

cambridge.org/core/journals/…

Accordingly, the far-right (populist) media strategy functions, Wodak claims, as a catalyst, an instrument of mobilization, distraction, and subsequently, of normalization.

https://twitter.com/docrussjackson/status/1624347298640560128?s=20

Wilhelm Heitmeyer’s theory of ‘coarse civility’ points to the important contribution of conservative elites & the media in shifting the boundaries of normalcy.

According to Heitmeyer, such elites can, on the one hand, repeatedly re-establish and strengthen ‘fundamental values’ even in times of great uncertainty; on the other hand, they can contribute to the relaxation of these very fundamental values.

This is achieved by, among other things, “the placement of terms or catchy formulas” that recontextualize formulations. Heitmeyer demonstrates the emergence of new meanings and interpretations, especially by important actors in public life (‘transmission actors’).

Krzyżanowski & Ledin, on the other hand, analyze the blurring of boundaries between civility & uncivility, & illustrate that much ambivalence accompanies so-called discursive shifts, ie, a borderline discourse, “which verges on civility & uncivility, in context-dependent ways”.

Wodak's definition of 'shameless normalization' refers to ‘blunt or shameless discursive & material practices’. Obviously, the far-right populists’ agendas (& related rhetoric) have already reached the political mainstream (eg Johnson, Sunak & Braverman).

https://twitter.com/docrussjackson/status/1640813412832759830?s=20

Hence, everybody is confronted with widespread normalization of far-right policies, of formerly tabooed topics, wordings, and impolite behaviour (i.e., ‘bad manners’ - exemplified in Trump's & Burlosconni's press conferences.

journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/09…

Traditional norms and rules of political culture, of negotiation and deliberation, are violated by continuous provocations, disseminated via the media, supported by mainstream conservatives, and thus—shamelessly—normalized.

Importantly, Jörg Flecker’s empirical study illustrates that views of society and political orientations at the center or mainstream are not straightforward, but often ambivalent, even partly contradictory.

Flecker’s arguments relate well to Cooper’s claims about ‘authoritarian protectionism’. Flecker emphasizes two salient developments since the 1990s (which became even more relevant following the financial crisis in 2008) that prove dangerous to liberal democracies:

First, a tendency to endorse nativist, identitarian thinking; Second, orientation toward authoritarianism. Normalization of far-right populist ideologies lead to ever stronger ethno-nationalist views: belonging to a collective is seen as linked to biological heritage & ancestry.

Shifts in the messages, framing, and discourse can have a substantial impact—including, but not necessarily, on normalizing far-right positions.

In the extreme form of cultural racism, this goes hand in hand with the debasement of the other as inferior.

Flecker maintains that such cultural racism has been empirically found among those who, for instance, believe that specific groups of migrants are not suited to wage labour. This implies that: ‘Whoever doesn’t have their roots here shouldn’t stay’.

Ever more explicit authoritarian attitudes can be observed, expressed toward migrants as well as long-time unemployed people, homeless people, & people who receive social benefits.

https://twitter.com/docrussjackson/status/1634109219149426689?s=20

Slogans that call for ‘cracking down’ or ‘getting tough’ to ‘move’ people to take on jobs resonate widely.

theguardian.com/society/2023/m…

Such attitudes reflect the impact of #neoliberal policies as well as rising inequality, both of which support the shameless normalization of the far-right, widely disseminated by traditional & social media.

https://twitter.com/jburnmurdoch/status/1570832839318605824?s=20

Much of the rhetoric 'shamelessly normalising' the far-right frequently draws on traditional antisemitic stereotypes that imply some form of Jewish world conspiracy, e.g., on anti-Sorosism.

In contrast to Trump’s strategy as an agitator who created his own ‘fake’ news & circumvented & delegitimized investigative journalism, Sebastian Kurz, who served as Austria’s Chancellor until October 2021, was a master of image-building who attempted to *control* the media.

In the four years since he first took over leadership of the national-conservative Austrian People’s Party in 2017, he raised it to new electoral heights by combining hardline immigration rhetoric with personality-driven politics & calls for a ‘new style’ of governing.

The analysis Wodak presents follows Douglas Walton’s taxonomy of argumentative schemes of ‘doing #propaganda’, where he distinguishes ten essential characteristics.

For brevity, in this analysis, Wodak points to just some of its important dimensions.

jstor.org/stable/pdf/404…

*Message control* implies a relentless internal focus on ensuring that a certain narrative about, & perception of, the government is disseminated in media & public life eg Kurz launched his 2017 national election campaign with a so-called 'big lie'.

kurier.at/politik/inland…

Kurz claimed to have closed the so-called Balkan route for refugees traveling to Europe; he argued that he had prevented even more refugees entering the EU - a strategy mirrored in the UK @Conservatives' relentless focus on 'small boats', despite asylum seeker numbers growing.

At every possible occasion, this lie was repeated, & he was widely acclaimed as the savior of the Occident.

This argument is fallacious since Merkel’s initiated 2016 deal between Europe & Turkey (more or less) closed the Balkan route.

Merkel's initiative resulted in Turkey promising to provide protection to refugees arriving from Syria & Iraq; in return, Turkey received 6 billion Euro (until 2018) to support these refugees.

bundesregierung.de/breg-de/servic…

Thus, refugees did not have to flee to Austria, Germany, or Sweden, they had to remain in Turkey.

Kurz had a habit of calling up journalists directly or having aides reach out on his behalf when he felt their stories were too critical of Govt policies.

theguardian.com/media/2023/mar…

Once Kurz became Chancellor, he hired 80 PR consultants under the supervision of his personal advisor, Gerhard Fleischmann, who were responsible for implementing his strategic agenda.

huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/boris-jo…

The same is true for the Ministry of Interior Affairs which also hired 80 PR consultants. In this way, *unilateral narratives* were disseminated, without critical discussion or counter-arguments.

opendemocracy.net/en/dark-money-…

The ORF, the state broadcaster, one of whose news divisions is sometimes critical of the government, remains on stable financial footing, thanks to its financing mix of mandatory license fees from viewers and advertising.

But journalists in the ORF report that the broadcaster faced continuous interventions from Kurz’s Govt in news coverage.

Similarly, a @BBC said: “Particularly on the website, our headlines have been determined by calls from Downing Street on a very regular basis.”

Indeed, the election of a new ORF director, which the ÖVP could directly influence through the board of governors, resulted in the installation of a political crony in August 2021 - the same year as Tory donor Richard Sharp was installed at the @BBC.

https://twitter.com/docrussjackson/status/1636664509677928452?s=20

Furthermore, as new evidence brought to light in October 2021 illustrates, Kurz & his followers allegedly used taxpayer money to pay for manipulated polls, thus exaggerating their support.

https://twitter.com/docrussjackson/status/1537781708807888900?s=20

The publication of text exchanges (WhatsApp) from within Kurz’s loyal inner circle has made explicit the lengths to which the former Chancellor was willing to go to steer the media.

exxpress.at/welches-weib-w…

One of the salient text messages “Who pays, gives the orders” describes the leitmotif of the corrupt dealings with the media: Kurz & his team paid; & respective media published the strategically placed positive & uncritical reports. Swathes of the UK media do this free of charge.

Endorsed with a huge budget & communication staff, Kurz’s media operation was indeed larger than many Austrian newsrooms. The Govt coalition which Kurz led until October 2021, which includes his party, the ÖVP, & the Greens, earmarked €210 million for media spending until 2024.

“Whether Kurz will succeed in rescuing his reputation is another question... he has cultivated over the years as a selfless public servant. In the texts, Kurz comes across as a cutthroat political operator willing to do whatever it takes to win power.”

https://twitter.com/docrussjackson/status/1372489124071018497?s=20

Related to *content control* are the many ways in which Kurz & his party sought to subvert or undermine democratic institutions whenever this would serve their political interests.

The undermining of checks & balances follows an obvious striving for power, at the same time neglecting previous constitutive principles of the party which had always defined itself as ‘Christian social’ & thus abiding by 'Christian humanitarian' values.

Accordingly, since 2020, Kurz & his followers have repeatedly attacked Austria’s judiciary as politically motivated, specifically by ‘left-wing networks’ and ‘left-wing conspiracies’. However, no evidence exists for such networks.

theguardian.com/books/2020/aug…

This accusation was repeated at every possible occasion & many people started to challenge the independence of the judiciary.

PM Johnson declared he would prevent “the whole criminal justice system from being hamstrung by... lefty human rights lawyers”.

independent.co.uk/news/uk/politi…

Moreover, after several policy measures implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic were judged illegal by the Supreme Court, Kurz derogatorily maintained that supreme judges’ decisions were only “legal quibbles” & not to be taken seriously.

The pressure on media reporting also has huge financial implications. Subsidizing (or supporting by other means) friendly media & punishing critical media blatantly instrumentalizes the volatile situation of (Austrian) media.

bylinetimes.com/2023/03/01/fro…

Most news media are experiencing huge economic problems due to transformations of traditional media audiences.

In the UK, the Govt is a major source of funding for 'news' in the form of indirect subsidies for news production through zero VAT rating on newspapers.

And in the UK, where the corporate newspapers are playing their full part in the corruption of the UK, they are being handsomely rewarded, says Brian Cathcart, Professor of Journalism & the author of ‘The Case of Stephen Lawrence’:
bylinetimes.com/2022/02/15/10-…

In Austria, critical media are being intentionally starved. In the past, most of the subsidies was spent on advertising, a practice - critics contend - that should be seen as masked support for the country’s powerful tabloids, which endorsed Kurz & have received most of the cash.

In Austria, critical media received much less, if they received anything at all. In 2020, the coalition spent €47 million on such advertising, or triple what the previous government did.

In the UK, the Govt has also been paying a special subsidy to the big newspaper groups.

Explicitly identified as “support” for the industry, it takes the form of an advertising deal called ‘All In, All Together’, comprising public service messages & articles more or less labelled as Government-funded.

The funding provided was only available to print newspaper publishers, & the scheme disproportionately favoured corporate publishers & excluded independent publishers.

Neither side will say how much taxpayers’ money this has cost.

The budget was £35 million just for the first three months.

The beneficiaries were almost exclusively wealthy corporations that did not need the money, while independent, innovative local news publishers that are most threatened by the pandemic received almost nothing.

Against this background, the concept of ‘Boulevard-democracy’ was coined by Fritz Plasser to describe how the placement of advertisements leads to a toxic symbiosis of Govt & tabloids. A paradox, as the fourth estate SHOULD take a critical look at, & challenge, those in power.

According to investigative journalist Eva Linsinger the opposite is common in Austria. The respective rulers are adored & presented in exaggerated positive terms. For example, with headlines like "Abroad they love the Wonder Boy Kurz".

It's the same - probably worse - in the UK.

Quite like Viktor Orbán’s regime, Kurz & his followers assisted wealthy supporters when buying (parts of) relevant media, especially tabloids. This strategy necessarily guarantees friendly reporting.

https://twitter.com/docrussjackson/status/1640635689824927745?s=20

For example, René Benko, one of the richest men in Austria, bought a 49 percent stake in the WAZ Holding GmbH which owns 50 percent of the tabloid with the largest outreach, Neue Kronen Zeitung, and almot 50 percent of Kurier, the most government-friendly newspaper.

To attract voters from the extreme-right Freedom Party, Kurz strategically blurred the boundaries between far-right populist rhetoric & traditional conservative values, normalizing far-right policies on immigration & human rights & increasing the polarized political environment.

The precise same strategy has been unfolding in the UK for several years, with the @Conservatives moving further & further toward the far-right in a bid first to minimise the electoral success of UKIP, then Farage's Brexit Party, & now Tice's reform Party.

https://twitter.com/docrussjackson/status/1642528050507071491?s=20

This presents a prime example of coarse civility and of Walton’s strategies of *orchestration and manipulation* of message content.

Again, we see *precisely* this technique being used in Britain in relation to asylum seekers & refugees.

https://twitter.com/docrussjackson/status/1619700278948937729?s=20

Instead of discussing & providing solutions for major sociopolitical problems such as globally rising inequality & youth unemployment, or the consequences of climate change for migration politics, refugees & migrants continue to serve as THE scapegoat for all woes.

National-conservative parties present themselves as the ‘soft, politically correct alternative’ to far-right populism & indeed, demagoguery. Demonising & scapegoating migrants, some ethnicities, the poor & the Left correspond to the shameless normalization of far-right rhetoric.

Here, the connections &, indeed, overlaps of policies between neoliberal, neoconservative, & far-right ideologies are particularly evident.

These utterances are widely disseminated via message control, & resonate with large parts of the public.

awblog.at/rechtsextremis…

Another propagandistic strategy consists of *inclusion of some & exclusion of others* from important news. Thus, Kurz frequently invited selected journalists to so-called backroom discussions to inform them of the ÖVP’s preferred narrative.

Authoritarian, autocratic far-right regimes intentionally distract journalists’ attention from other agendas using a variety of techniques including the so-called ‘dead cat strategy’, & ‘flooding the zone with shit’.

centeronnationalsecurity.org/vital-interest…

In the UK, Boris Johnson in particular explicitly embraced & practiced steve bannon's strategy of 'flooding the zone with shit', & was so comfortable with it that he was happy to describe it in public.

https://twitter.com/docrussjackson/status/1487019337508663299?s=20

Friendly journalists widely disseminate intentionally constructed “mind-closing narratives” (Grabbe and Lehne 2017).

carnegieeurope.eu/2017/03/17/clo…

Moreover, access to information was being severely restricted: government employees were frequently forbidden to speak with the press.

Such strategies come close to so-called 'managed democracies' & their press policies.

The shameless normalization of far-right agendas leads to a step-by-step implementation of authoritarianism in liberal democracies.

We must all stay vigilant, & identify & challenge this at every available opportunity.

Investigative journalism has come under strong pressure—via exclusion from access to information; delegitimization of their work; financial pressure & even - as in Hungary, Turkey, & Poland - via closing down independent media channels & imprisonment.

https://twitter.com/docrussjackson/status/1590364933166084096?s=20

Scheppele rightly argues:

“Democracies are not just failing for cultural or economic or political reasons. Some constitutional democracies are being deliberately hijacked by a set of legally clever autocrats, who use constitutionalism and democracy to destroy both.”

“Because these autocrats push their illiberal measures with electoral backing & use constitutional or legal methods to accomplish their aims, they can hide their autocratic designs in the pluralism of legitimate legal forms.”

“In the US, & I'd say that Britain is another example, we are seeing massive changes to the law being enacted that could well entrench executives in an almost king-like position for a long time.”

“As people get educated into the new ways that autocrats hollow out constitutional norms so that they no longer work as they're supposed to, then it seems to me publics must be mobilized to use whatever levers of influence are still available to them.”

“Elections, even though they're no longer level playing fields, may still be possible to win, if the opposition can unite.”

“Civil society mobilization, media investigations, & close-up criticism by the parliamentary opposition are meant to be the weapons in a democracy that allows a democracy to be self-sustaining. No one can take those things for granted. They are even more important now than ever.”

Ruth Wodak ends her important article by saying:

“Critically challenging what is otherwise taken for granted & essentialized should therefore be regarded as a first step to protecting press freedom & independent scholarship.”

The clock is ticking...

theguardian.com/politics/2021/…

A few very recent recent examples of some of the rhetoric which serve to illustrated the above.

Firstly, concerning asylum seekers:

https://twitter.com/docrussjackson/status/1643548711950139393?t=gbH6CSPiU9YWvqhv9uCJEg&s=19

Secondly, the dangerously irresponsible & misleading rhetoric around so-called "grooming gangs", which 'shamelessly normalises" far-right framing:

https://twitter.com/docrussjackson/status/1643718313158012930?t=gbH6CSPiU9YWvqhv9uCJEg&s=19

Finally, a reminder about The Conservative Nationalism Conference (NatCon) taking place in London from 13 -15 May, involving every hard-right free-market culture-war-fuelling Christo-nationalist authoritarian individual & organisation you've ever heard of.

https://twitter.com/docrussjackson/status/1643966178115592193?s=20

If you want to better understand the historical development of the deregulatory neoliberal free-market fundamentalist ideology currently destroying everything good about western democracy & replacing it with corporate oligarchy, here's an introduction:

https://twitter.com/docrussjackson/status/1316654443836866560?s=20

And if you're interested in more narrative-driven polemics, here's an article from May 2021 about how Boris Johnson supercharged the march toward authoritarian Oligarchy here in Britain:

russjackson.medium.com/are-we-there-y…

Confirmed speakers at the National Conservatism Conference in London, May 15 - 17, include Keven Roberts, President of the anti-woke, anti-abortion, anti-same-sex marriage, anti-welfare, anti-union, anti-climate science, free-market Heritage Foundation:

https://twitter.com/docrussjackson/status/1644301873896124417?s=20

A thread summarising some of the main risks poised by the National Conservatism movement.

https://twitter.com/docrussjackson/status/1658085700376338432?s=20

Here's a great new article researching the network of the British 'anti-woke' community, taking in all the usual suspects including GB "News", Spiked, Toby Young's 'Free Speech Union', the IEA, high profile individuals such as Matt Goodwin, & many others.

https://twitter.com/docrussjackson/status/1662098562006630400?s=20

@threadreaderapp please unroll.