Overview

This book takes an in-depth look at journalists’ developing practices to expose the extreme-right networks that receive many millions of views across the dark web and mainstream platforms. The book draws on ideas about journalism’s role as a digital guardian, or a gatekeeper, which can engage audiences about the need to counter viral terror content and white supremacist material. This rare case study is focused on journalists’ reporting and news audiences’ related comments about the increasingly prevalent shock channels on social media. Previously, journalistic stories have been critiqued for sensationally promoting extreme-right leaders. This book shows how journalists are adapting digital techniques to start countering the extreme-right’s subcultures including a twisted buzz, fake news sites and stylised violence that frequently targets democratic reporters. Book chapters take a deep dive into the interconnected and dark web archives, journalists’ related reporting and subscribers’ comments in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. It examines the ethical debates about the best professional practices for exposing the extreme-right networks going forward. The book finds three main elements of journalists’ gatekeeper roles. First, journalists used popular video sharing platforms, such as Instagram and YouTube, to expose white supremacist influencers. Secondly, they developed long-form writing styles to explain the absurd aesthetics of extreme-right subcultures that have included beauty queen pageants, dating sites and playlists on music streaming giants. Thirdly, reporters revealed how they have developed multiple and deep undercover personas to uncover dark web chatrooms and the related, youth-oriented events. This book asserts that the successful news exposés have been characterised by an engaged focus on readers’ demands for journalism that demonstrates transparency, trust and corrective information to enhance social cohesion. This book is intended to be a useful resource to researchers, scholars and students of journalism, communication, media and politics, as well as professionals already operating within the field of journalism.

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9781041154822

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Author Information

Caryn Coatney is a Journalism Lecturer at the University of Southern Queensland. She has been an investigative news journalist in Australia and internationally and worked in many fields of communication extensively. Her journalism research has won global awards and has been published in leading journals and books. She has completed a Research Fellowship at the Australian Prime Ministers Centre in the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House, Canberra. Her recent book is Spotlight on Journalism and Popular Heroism (Routledge, 2025) and she is also the editor of Investigative Journalism in Changing Times (Routledge, 2023) including her authored book chapters. Other published research includes her book, John Curtin: How He Won Over The Media (Australian Scholarly Publishing). She has a PhD (Journalism), Master of Arts (Research and Coursework - Journalism) and Bachelor of Arts (Honours in both English Literature and History).

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