New Media and the Crowdsourcing of Politics: The Strange Case of Dr. Berlusconi and Mr. Grillo Cover Image

New Media and the Crowdsourcing of Politics: The Strange Case of Dr. Berlusconi and Mr. Grillo
New Media and the Crowdsourcing of Politics: The Strange Case of Dr. Berlusconi and Mr. Grillo

Author(s): Inoslav Bešker
Subject(s): Politics / Political Sciences, Social Sciences, Media studies, Communication studies, Electoral systems
Published by: Fakultet političkih znanosti u Zagrebu
Keywords: new media; politics; crowdsourcing; populism; Italy; Grillo; Berlusconi;

Summary/Abstract: The main Italian populist politicians, Silvio Berlusconi and Beppe Grillo, ensured their successes in parliamentary elections in 2013 combining a skilful use of electronic media with classical mass rallies, avoiding debates with competitors, and shunning journalists. The message of both Grillo and Berlusconi is characterized by populism, anti-party attitudes, demonization of opponents and an approach to the public and to politics focused on the leader. Although Grillo and Casaleggio emphasize their MoVement’s use of Internet as a direct democracy, claiming that the MoVements politics is created in equal measure by all the members, in a kind of a crowdsourcing, Grillo’s messages remain mostly unidirectional directives, more appropriate to a dictatorial than to a democratic discourse.

  • Issue Year: 4/2013
  • Issue No: 8
  • Page Range: 22-31
  • Page Count: 10
  • Language: English