MASKS AND MIRRORS: THE USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA BY FAR-RIGHT POLITICAL PARTIES AND MOVEMENTS IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC AND SLOVAKIA

Poststructuralist tradition of discourse analysis has strongly influenced political science, including theories of international relations, European identities and mass media analysis. The following paper shall use discourse theory and critical discourse analysis (CDA) to show how discourse-dialectical theory of discourse is an aspect of social media which contributes to the theoretical and methodological behavior found in social media and in political studies. Moreover, the internet has proven to be a revolutionary way to tap into the voice of the people, the mythical "general will" because it purports to represent a global ecosystem of social interaction. However, social media's increasingly influential impacts, and the maturation of strategic uses of online platforms to influence voters for political gain have altered discourse with the rise of far-right political parties. The authors utilize a comparative analysis to observe the use of social media by far-political parties and movements in the Czech Republic and Slovakia in a contemporary approach of CDA reproducing political power, power abuse and/or domination through political discourse that as a topic fits the theme of the conference while offering practical experience in the field of marketing, media and communication.