Populism and Political Rhetoric in Canada: Understanding the Need for a Critical Lens When It Comes to Narrative Form, Populist Content, and Digital Platforms

Digital devices are now present in all aspects of daily life and as a result, digitally produced stories, and narrative in general, have come to play an increasingly important role in political communication. This digitalization of political communication significantly increases the ability to frame political narratives in a way that immerses an audience in a story. Combined with the plethora of digital platforms, it becomes almost impossible to know who has been immersed in what narrative. Moreover, the application of generative AI tools allows for the creation of narratives that are untrue, misleading, or simply have not occurred. It is often argued populist narratives are more appealing than non-populist political narratives, so understanding how populism connects to “deep” narratives and how these are framed, created, shared, and received is essential to understanding populist rhetoric.