Vernacular voices in the public sphere

Though criticized for attracting bigots and haters, ‘below the line’ (BTL) comment spaces extend the public sphere to include vernacular voices that rarely figure in mainstream democratic debate. This study examines interaction among commenters in a corpus of comments posted to the British newspaper the Express on the divisive issue of Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union. It shows how in this context regular BTL commenters create and perform an authentic ‘Brexiter’ identity in opposition to public norms of civility, through displays of in-group solidarity and collective out-group hostility. It further shows how this aggressive behaviour is deliberately orchestrated and channelled by the newspaper itself. The study suggests that, as a result, the common ground essential to democratic participation is not being extended but eroded, to the detriment of all.