Journal of Alternative & Community Media - Volume 8, Issue 1, 2023

This explorative study analyses the Norwegian right-wing alternative media outlet Resett’s extensive coverage of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement in the United States – not a traditional enemy of the European far right. It discusses and suggests explanations of the puzzling phenomenon of an ideological and media actor in a very different part of the world becoming politically invested in an internal American conflict. This research finds that Resett is strongly biased against BLM, disproportionally tying BLM to law and order issues and framing it as a threat. Resett portrays BLM as an extremist organization that attacks Trump supporters. Moreover, Resett, itself relying on American right-wing media for information, claims that mainstream media is not telling the truth about BLM. I suggest that future research should explore if interest in American politics and support for the American (far) right is something that influences the journalistic work of non-American right-wing alternative media.

Mada Masr, an alternative online-only news medium, has continued to operate for more than nine years in Egypt. However, fascination with its mere existence as an alternative journalism in a harsh political climate has prevented researchers from evaluating its performance from an audience perspective. To fill in the gap, this study seeks to explore audience engagement on Mada Masr’s Arabic Facebook page by analysing posts that received the highest and lowest likes (reactions). Results show that posts with the most likes were those contesting the state’s performance and providing oppositional counter-mainstream media knowledge. This finding is consistent with the literature on the role of alternative media in different political contexts, one of political deliberation in western democracies and another of social mobilization in non-western transitional contexts where social change is sought. However, the elitist nature of many of Mada Masr’s posts questions the extent to which Mada Masr is willing to identify itself with the wider public.

Authoritarian governments seem to use the same methods of coercion the world over. Recent developments in Belarus and Zimbabwe resonate with this observation. President Alexander Lukashenko prevailed in a deeply flawed and controversial election which his opponents claimed was rigged in July 2020, triggering massive countrywide protests by the opposition supporters. In Zimbabwe, corruption over COVID-19 procurement, coupled with a dire economic situation, pushed citizens to organize demonstrations. Both Belarus and Zimbabwean security personnel employed a heavy-headed approach to thwart demonstrations, committing gross human rights abuses under the cover of darkness or under face masks. Although digital activism has received so much credit as a formidable force to challenge power, its success in dismantling oppressive regimes and systems is a subject of debate. In light of this debate, this qualitative article employed counterpublics as a theoretical lens to explore Twitter and digital tools that allow ordinary citizens and activists to counter human rights abuses in authoritarian environments, making future quests for justice possible.

Youth media literature celebrates youth voice but rarely discusses the power dynamics between adult mentors and youth. This case study explores these power dynamics in cultivating trust between teenagers creating community media and their adult mentors on Chicago’s South Side. The authors identified three self-determination themes relating to these power dynamics between the youth and adults in the production process during the COVID-19 pandemic: (1) generating routines to foster a sense of competency; (2) having a sense of belonging by creating caring interactions; (3) allowing participants to voice their opinion to increase their sense of autonomy. Being Black teenagers in the middle of the pandemic along with the social unrest was challenging. Creating their own media for a specific target audience in their community, instead of a cable TV channel, supported the youth’s sense of power to come intrinsically and not from the adult facilitators.