Chapter 3. Germany

Abstract

This chapter addresses how populist conceptualisations and right-wing populist rhetoric are drawn upon by Alternative für Deutschland (Alternative for Germany, AfD) supporters on Facebook when expressing support for AfD and constructing in- and outgroups. 1479 direct replies to the original post covering the election campaign for the 2019 EU election in four threads were selected from the official AfD Facebook page. Findings disclose that populist conceptualisations such as ‘saving’ and speaking for ‘the people’, denouncing the elite and belittling outgroups are crucial drivers for voting AfD and identity constructions of in- and outgroups. AfD supporters draw on linguistic resources specific to social media (e.g. emojis) and populist discourse in their comments resulting in populist and right-wing rhetoric being manifest in AfD supporters’ discourse.