Become Immortal! Mediatization and mediation processes of extreme right protest

Abstract

This paper presents a case study of the German neo-fascist network The Immortals (Die Unsterblichen) who in 2011 performed a flash-mob, which was disseminated on YouTube for the so-called “Become Immortal” campaign. The street protest was designed for and adapted to the specific characteristics of online activism. It is a good example of how new contentious action repertoires in which online and street activism intertwine have also spread to extreme right groups. Despite its neo-fascist and extreme right content, the “Become Immortal” campaign serves as an illustrative case for the study of mediated and mediatized activism.

In order to analyze the protest form, the visual aesthetics and the discourse of The Immortals, the paper mobilizes three concepts from media and communication studies: media practice, mediation, and mediatiza- tion. It will be argued that the current transformation and modernization processes of the extreme right can be conceptualized and understood through the lens of these three concepts.