Platform Politics in a Platform Society; On Forum voor Democratie’s Twitter Usage

Abstract

Forum voor Democratie, a populist Dutch political party, has become the party with the most members in the Netherlands within a few years of its insurrection. FVD’s party leader, Thierry Baudet, has become a controversial figure within the political landscape because of his provoking utterances in the media. This case study focusses on Baudet’s usage of social media, specifically Twitter, to determine the strategies used by a Dutch populist political party within an increasingly digitalized society. My research shows that, with regards to COVID-19, FVD only shows some features of populist parties. They primarily rally against the established powers that be but seem to limit this to political powers. Many of the populist tendencies that are found in many populist parties’ social media usage are still to be found, but in a more toned-down manner.