Askanius, Tina Maria Brock, Anne Kaun & Anders Olof Larsson | 2024
International Journal of Communication 18(2024)
This article explores the discursive linkages between violent misogyny and violent rightwing
extremism in the popular Swedish online discussion forum Flashback, which affords
anonymous and relatively unmoderated commenting. Empirically, it focuses on the
articulations of misogyny and anti-feminism mapped onto extreme right ideology including
white supremacism in user comments posted across 16 Flashback threads. To analyze the
extensive data set, we first drew on a collocation analysis of user comments (N = 20,359)
scraped from a strategic selection of threads. From this sample we chose 36 combinations
to be considered for a closer reading. In the second analytical step, critical discourse
analysis coupled with the Essex School’s logics approach helped us unpack the logics of
conspiracy and male entitlement, as well as the fantasmatic projections of Swedish women
as both “race traitors” and “victims” at the heart of extreme right discourse in and beyond
Sweden today.
