German-speaking hyperpartisan, alternative, and conspiracy Telegram channel types: A content analysis

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Cover of Volume: SCM Studies in Communication and Media Volume 15 (2026), Issue 1
Open Access Full access

SCM Studies in Communication and Media

Volume 15 (2026), Issue 1

Authors:
Publisher
Nomos, Baden-Baden
Copyright Year
2026
ISSN-Online
2192-4007
ISSN-Print
2192-4007

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Open Access Full access

Volume 15 (2026), Issue 1

German-speaking hyperpartisan, alternative, and conspiracy Telegram channel types: A content analysis

Authors:
ISSN-Print
2192-4007
ISSN-Online
2192-4007
Preview:

This article scrutinizes the anti-establishment media sphere in German-speaking countries along high-reach Telegram channels. We are theorizing this sphere as communicative figuration. To describe this figuration, we conducted a quantitative content analysis of the 40 most influential German-speaking hyperpartisan, alternative, and conspiracy ­Telegram channels (HAC) in 2023. Our sample of more than 2,700 single posts allows us to build a typology of these channels. Our seven types represent a broad variety of different practices. Thus, the alternative public discourse emerging from the most influential Telegram channels can be seen as a diverse and dynamic network of interactions. The importance of curation as an editorial practice seems to be a major characteristic of HAC Telegram channels.

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