Socio-Cultural Aspects of Anti-Populism: Depictions of Brexiters in Online Remain Communities

The aim of this paper is to flesh out the character and pervasiveness of cultural stereotypes about populism and – in particular – supporters of populism. This is done by focusing on the case of Brexit, and analysing visual (memes, images, etc.) as well as discursive material (text-based posts and discussion comments under relevant posts) on online ‘Remain’ communities, to identify and critically assess patterns in the aesthetics and semantics of the representation of Brexit supporters. Beyond the criticism of UK governments’ attempts to materialise Brexit, an important part of the activity of these communities is focused on Brexit supporters, who are often depicted in pejorative ways. This case study will allow us to capture, in vivid detail, a manifestation of the cultural ‘high vs low’ conflict that is in operation in today’s populist and anti-populist discourses. While the politics of Brexit is very commonly described as ‘populist’, the emphasis on strategic or ideological-ideational dimensions of populism has left its socio-cultural aspects and their implications underexamined. Contrasted to ‘official’ discourse against Brexit (e.g. that of politicians, institutions or most media sources), that would avoid such pejorative depictions, the ‘unofficial’ discourse of an online community of like-minded individuals is more likely to allow the expression of powerful, but otherwise lurking, sentiments that are linked to culture, identity, and belonging. Such a case study thus makes possible their examination, something that would not be as possible in the analysis of official discourse. The findings offer an understanding of deeper dynamics operating below political polarisation like the one around Brexit, and help us make sense of some key causes of its visceral and strident character, such as those related to moral emotions. The paper shows how pervasive these particular stereotypes of the ‘low’ are (and its links to class or conceptions of the periphery), even amongst communities that explicitly see themselves as against prejudice, discrimination and marginalisation. Such an understanding may be a necessary condition for thinking of avenues for ameliorating similar forms of polarisation.