{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,1]],"date-time":"2026-06-01T22:28:57Z","timestamp":1780352937099,"version":"3.54.1"},"reference-count":68,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,6,11]],"date-time":"2022-06-11T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1654905600000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/page\/policies\/text-and-data-mining-license"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.sagepub.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["New Media &amp; Society"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2024,6]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>This article establishes a theoretical link between the business model of social media and the resurgence of antiliberal populism. Through a novel set of tactics I term \u201cidentity biopolitics,\u201d political campaigns and foreign governments alike can identify voters as members of socioculturally differentiated populations, then target them with political messages aimed at cultivating voters\u2019 awareness of their particular disadvantage within the prevailing liberal order. Identity biopolitics exploits a positive feedback loop between targeting and content: the sociocultural differentiations liberalism declares politically irrelevant are used to target content that cultivates awareness of subjects\u2019 particular depoliticized disadvantage within the prevailing liberal order. The antiliberal populist exploits this condition to drive support for their political program. This article presents case studies of the Internet Research Agency and Cambridge Analytica during the 2016 general election in the United States to demonstrate the symbiosis between social media and antiliberal populism.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/14614448221099587","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,6,11]],"date-time":"2022-06-11T06:42:09Z","timestamp":1654929729000},"page":"3273-3289","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":5,"title":["The birth of identity biopolitics: How social media serves antiliberal populism"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"26","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6970-698X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Brian","family":"Judge","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"University of California, Berkeley, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,6,11]]},"reference":[{"key":"bibr1-14614448221099587","volume-title":"On Ideology","author":"Althusser L","year":"1971"},{"key":"bibr2-14614448221099587","volume-title":"Imagined Communities","author":"Anderson B","year":"1990"},{"key":"bibr3-14614448221099587","unstructured":"Ballhaus R, Andrews N (2017) At the intersection of Russia probe and social media: Donald Trump\u2019s digital chief. Wall Street Journal, 13 October. Available at: https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/at-the-intersection-of-russia-probe-and-social-media-donald-trumps-digital-chief-1507937919"},{"key":"bibr4-14614448221099587","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1086\/495343"},{"key":"bibr5-14614448221099587","volume-title":"Race after Technology: Abolitionist Tools for the New Jim Code","author":"Benjamin R","year":"2019"},{"key":"bibr6-14614448221099587","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/oso\/9780190923624.001.0001"},{"key":"bibr7-14614448221099587","volume-title":"Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgment of Taste","author":"Bourdieu P","year":"1984"},{"key":"bibr8-14614448221099587","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/0090591793021003003"},{"key":"bibr9-14614448221099587","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1515\/9780691201399"},{"key":"bibr10-14614448221099587","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.7312\/brow19384"},{"key":"bibr11-14614448221099587","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s11186-017-9301-7"},{"key":"bibr12-14614448221099587","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev-soc-090820-020800"},{"key":"bibr13-14614448221099587","unstructured":"Cadwalladr C (2018) \u2018I made Steve Bannon\u2019s psychological warfare tool\u2019: meet the data war whistleblower. The Guardian, 18 March. Available at: https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/news\/2018\/mar\/17\/data-war-whistleblower-christopher-wylie-faceook-nix-bannon-trump"},{"key":"bibr14-14614448221099587","unstructured":"Channel 4 (2018) Exposed: undercover secrets of Trump\u2019s data firm. Channel 4, 20 March. Available at: https:\/\/www.channel4.com\/news\/exposed-undercover-secrets-of-donald-trump-data-firm-cambridge-analytica"},{"key":"bibr15-14614448221099587","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/0263276411424420"},{"key":"bibr16-14614448221099587","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.18574\/nyu\/9781479888702.001.0001"},{"key":"bibr17-14614448221099587","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2307\/1229039"},{"key":"bibr18-14614448221099587","volume-title":"Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices","author":"Drucker P","year":"1973"},{"key":"bibr19-14614448221099587","first-page":"1","author":"DuBrin R","year":"2021","journal-title":"Constellations"},{"key":"bibr20-14614448221099587","volume-title":"Automating Inequality: How High-tech Tools Profile, Police, and Punish the Poor","author":"Eubanks V","year":"2017"},{"key":"bibr21-14614448221099587","volume-title":"Rated Agency","author":"Feher M","year":"2018"},{"key":"bibr22-14614448221099587","volume-title":"Ethics","author":"Foucault M","year":"1998"},{"key":"bibr23-14614448221099587","volume-title":"Security, Territory, Population","author":"Foucault M","year":"2003"},{"key":"bibr24-14614448221099587","volume-title":"Society Must Be Defended","author":"Foucault M","year":"2003"},{"key":"bibr25-14614448221099587","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.aos.2013.11.002"},{"key":"bibr26-14614448221099587","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"9","DOI":"10.1093\/ser\/mwx032","volume":"15","author":"Fourcade M","year":"2017","journal-title":"Socio-economic Review"},{"key":"bibr27-14614448221099587","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/1940161220912682"},{"key":"bibr28-14614448221099587","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.5840\/soctheorpract199723210"},{"key":"bibr29-14614448221099587","unstructured":"Green J, Issenberg S (2016) Inside the Trump bunker, with days to go. Bloomberg, 27 October. Available at: https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2016-10-27\/inside-the-trump-bunker-with-12-days-to-go"},{"key":"bibr30-14614448221099587","volume-title":"Let Them Eat Tweets","author":"Hacker J","year":"2020"},{"key":"bibr31-14614448221099587","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/acprof:oso\/9780198524021.003.0012"},{"key":"bibr32-14614448221099587","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.4159\/9780674915077"},{"key":"bibr33-14614448221099587","volume-title":"Lie Machines","author":"Howard P","year":"2020"},{"key":"bibr34-14614448221099587","unstructured":"Isaac M, Wakabayashi D (2017) Russian influence reached 126 million through Facebook alone. New York Times, 30 October. Available at: https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/10\/30\/technology\/facebook-google-russia.html"},{"key":"bibr35-14614448221099587","volume-title":"Cyberwar","author":"Jamieson K","year":"2018"},{"key":"bibr36-14614448221099587","first-page":"169","volume":"41","author":"Kellner D","year":"1997","journal-title":"New Political Science"},{"key":"bibr37-14614448221099587","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/cjres\/rsaa001"},{"key":"bibr38-14614448221099587","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.7208\/chicago\/9780226626611.001.0001"},{"key":"bibr39-14614448221099587","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.1218772110"},{"key":"bibr40-14614448221099587","volume-title":"On Populist Reason","author":"Laclau E","year":"2005"},{"key":"bibr41-14614448221099587","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/02684527.2019.1673940"},{"key":"bibr42-14614448221099587","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1353\/tae.2018.0054"},{"key":"bibr43-14614448221099587","unstructured":"Mart\u00ednez A (2018) How Trump conquered Facebook\u2014without Russian ads. Wired, 23 February. Available at: https:\/\/www.wired.com\/story\/how-trump-conquered-facebookwithout-russian-ads"},{"key":"bibr44-14614448221099587","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.7208\/chicago\/9780226436395.001.0001"},{"key":"bibr45-14614448221099587","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1017\/eis.2018.9"},{"key":"bibr46-14614448221099587","volume-title":"For a Left Populism","author":"Mouffe C","year":"2018"},{"key":"bibr47-14614448221099587","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.9783\/9780812293784"},{"key":"bibr48-14614448221099587","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.18574\/nyu\/9781479833641.001.0001"},{"key":"bibr49-14614448221099587","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1017\/9781108595841"},{"key":"bibr50-14614448221099587","unstructured":"O\u2019Sullivan D, Byers D (2017) Fake black activist accounts linked to Russian government. CNN, 28 September. Available at: http:\/\/money.cnn.com\/2017\/09\/28\/media\/blacktivist-russia-facebook-twitter\/index.html"},{"key":"bibr51-14614448221099587","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.4159\/harvard.9780674736061"},{"key":"bibr52-14614448221099587","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/0032329219838932"},{"key":"bibr53-14614448221099587","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1515\/9781400823482"},{"key":"bibr54-14614448221099587","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1017\/9781108560573"},{"key":"bibr55-14614448221099587","volume-title":"The State of Democratic Theory","author":"Shapiro I","year":"2003"},{"key":"bibr56-14614448221099587","volume-title":"Platform Capitalism","author":"Srnicek N","year":"2017"},{"key":"bibr57-14614448221099587","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1515\/9781400884711"},{"key":"bibr58-14614448221099587","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2307\/j.ctt7snkj.6"},{"key":"bibr59-14614448221099587","volume-title":"Ideology and Modern Culture","author":"Thompson J","year":"1990"},{"key":"bibr60-14614448221099587","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2307\/j.ctvk12sz4"},{"key":"bibr61-14614448221099587","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev-polisci-050317-070753"},{"key":"bibr62-14614448221099587","unstructured":"US House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (2018) Social Media Advertisements. Available at: https:\/\/intelligence.house.gov\/social-media-content\/social-media-advertisements.htm (accessed 7 May 2018)."},{"key":"bibr63-14614448221099587","unstructured":"USA v Internet Research Agency (2018) Case 1:18-cr-32, District of Columbia."},{"key":"bibr64-14614448221099587","unstructured":"USA v Khusyaynova (2018) Case 1:18-MJ-464, Eastern District of Virginia."},{"key":"bibr65-14614448221099587","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/oso\/9780190931407.001.0001"},{"key":"bibr66-14614448221099587","volume-title":"Economic Lives","author":"Zelizer V","year":"2011"},{"key":"bibr67-14614448221099587","volume-title":"The Age of Surveillance Capitalism","author":"Zuboff S","year":"2019"},{"key":"bibr68-14614448221099587","unstructured":"Zuckerberg M (2018) Hearing Before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary [Online]. Available at: https:\/\/www.judiciary.senate.gov\/download\/04-10-18-zuckerberg-testimony (accessed 25 May 2022)."}],"container-title":["New Media &amp; Society"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1177\/14614448221099587","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/full-xml\/10.1177\/14614448221099587","content-type":"application\/xml","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1177\/14614448221099587","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,2]],"date-time":"2026-05-02T03:55:17Z","timestamp":1777694117000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/10.1177\/14614448221099587"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2022,6,11]]},"references-count":68,"journal-issue":{"issue":"6","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2024,6]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1177\/14614448221099587"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/14614448221099587","relation":{},"ISSN":["1461-4448","1461-7315"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1461-4448","type":"print"},{"value":"1461-7315","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2022,6,11]]}}}