Chapter from the book: Frederiksen M. & Harboe Knudsen I. 2021. Modern Folk Devils: Contemporary Constructions of Evil.
This chapter examines how internet forums such as Facebook can be used in creating and spreading misleading stories and stimulating fear and panic. With the example of the Czech society, the author analyses various web forums that are based on anti-LGBT rights and anti-feminist ideologies, promoting these as threats to nuclear families and traditional gender norms. The text shows the paradoxical portrayal of LGBT activists as, on the one hand, freaks living on the fringe of society, not much more than a laughing stock, and, on the other hand, as a threat with the potential power to destroy traditional values in Czech society.
Svatoňová, E. 2021. ‘Gender Activists Will Kidnap Your Kids’: The Construction of Feminist and LGBT+ Rights Activists as Modern Folk Devils in Czech Anti-Gender Campaigns. In: Frederiksen M. & Harboe Knudsen I (eds.), Modern Folk Devils. Helsinki: Helsinki University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.33134/HUP-13-8
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Published on Dec. 13, 2021