Post-Truth Politics as Mobilization: The AfD’s EU Contestation in the 2019 State Election Campaigns in Saxony, Thuringia and Brandenburg

In an age of post-truth politics, the use of disinformation strategies appears to have become a standard tool in the repertoire of populist actors. Disinformation, in this context, is to be distinguished clearly from misinformation, and refers to the deliberate spread of false information for manipulative purposes. In particular, disinformation may be used to cause outrage in an attempt to mobilize potential supporters and voters. Increasing distrust of mainstream media, indeed of the journalistic profession as such, as well as the rise of social media and user-generated content contribute to the increasing relevance of disinformation strategies. Against this backdrop, this paper analyzes the use of disinformation as a mobilization tool, specifically by looking at the EU-related claims making of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) in the 2019 state election campaigns in the East German states of Saxony, Brandenburg and Thuringia. Despite the AfD’s recent radicalization and thematic shift from issues of European integration to migration and multiculturalism, the EU still represents an important point of reference in the party’s rhetoric, not least since the option of a German exit from the EU (“Dexit”) was explicitly included (as a measure of last resort) in the party’s manifesto for the 2019 European Parliament elections. Empirically, the paper approaches the research question both from the perspective of the actor and the arena dimension in that it addresses (a) the key actors involved in the spread of disinformation and (b) the importance of social/digital media, but also more traditional campaigning tools such as gatherings/rallies as a venue for spreading disinformation.