Anti-Media Populism as an Emerging Discursive Formation of Political Communication

Antimediálny populizmus ako vynárajúca sa diskurzívna formácia politickej komunikácie

Michal Bočák

https://doi.org/10.53465/JAP.2025.9788022552806.15-27

 

Abstract. In the past, politicians criticized the media mostly in specific situations. Currently, populist politicians are verbally attacking the mainstream media systematically to delegitimize them. Due to its specificity and pervasiveness, anti-media populism can be understood as an emerging discursive formation. After an overview of anti-media terms (populism, discourse, sentiment, and criticism), the study differentiates between media populism and anti-media populism and presents the main manifestations of the latter. The anti-media discursive formation is analysed especially with regard to its contradictions (the populists’ use of mainstream media, attacks on the media even from government positions after successful elections), it is delimited from other formations, and its dispositive overlaps are outlined. The examination of this new discourse allows for a better understanding of the position of the media in contemporary societies and a more precise understanding of the populism itself.

Keywords: anti-media populism, populism, media, discourse, political communication

Kľúčové slová: antimediálny populizmus, populizmus, médiá, diskurz, politická komunikácia 

Fulltext: PDF

Language of the paper: Slovak

Online publication date: 28 December 2025

Pages: 15 – 27

 

ISBN: 978-80-225-5280-6 (online), 978-80-225-5279-0,

ISSN: 2729-8973 (online), 2729-8981

Publisher: Bratislava University of Economics and Business, Vydavateľstvo Ekonóm

 

How to cite this conference proceedings paper (APA 7^th Edition):

Bočák, M. (2025). Antimediálny populizmus ako vynárajúca sa diskurzívna formácia politickej komunikácie. In R. Štefančík (Ed.), Jazyk a politika. Na pomedzí lingvistiky a politológie X (pp. 15–27). Bratislava: Ekonóm. https://doi.org/10.53465/JAP.2025.9788022552806.15-27