The Ultra-Right: Media, Discourses, and Communicative Strategies| Social Media, the Ultra-Right, and Freedom of Speech: A Case Study of CasaPound Italia and Facebook

Abstract

In this article, I analyze the discourse on freedom of speech following the shutdown of various Italian ultra-right accounts on Facebook, the popular social media network. Specifically, I draw from the Discourse Historical Approach (DHA) to explore the neofascist CasaPound Italia (CPI)’s response to what the organization perceived as “censorship,” as well as mainstream news media discourse of the issue. The data show that CPI employed various strategies to exploit the topos of freedom of speech for visibility and legitimacy. The study of news media coverage offers a perspective on how the issue was reported according to the newspapers’ political posturing. The conclusions highlight the need for a stronger anti-fascist stance on freedom of speech, one that should also include freedom from hate speech as a communal, consequential right.