Social networks and digital organisation: Far right parties atthe 2019 Australian federal election

This paper analyses the social media networks and content of fourAustralian parties, assessing their relationship to the far right atthe time of the 2019 Australian federal election. Using socialnetwork analysis, I map their relationship to a broader network offar-right actors in Australia on Facebook and Twitter, identifyingpathways of communication, mobilisation and recruitment. Thestructure of the parties’networks points to highly centralised,leader-centric organisations, placing them in a vulnerable positionin terms of sustainability. This is combined with qualitativecontent analysis, whichfinds little evidence of party organisationor campaign mobilisation on either platform, despite the contextof afirst-order election. Instead, these parties use social mediaprimarily for the construction of collective identities and thedevelopment and dissemination of interpretive frames, practicestypically associated with social movements rather than politicalparties.

Keywords: Far right; party organisation; social media; Pauline Hanson; Australia.