The final speaker in this session at the AANZCA 2025 conference is Brigid O’Connell, whose focus is on the emergence of the newspaper The Light as a problematic alternative news source. It can be described as dark political communication: political content that seeks to deepen political polarisation and discontent.
The Light’s coverage centres on COVID-19 denialism and conspiracist perspectives; it publishes in print and online, and originated in the UK and Ireland before adding an Australian edition soon after, funded by a coalition of COVID-19 sceptics and others. The publication describes itself as a ‘truthpaper’, and in this aligns with other such outlets around the world.
Copies of the newspaper are available at newsagents, in waiting rooms, and in other prominent public spaces; it is designed to look and feel like a traditional newspaper and appears to target major regional and rural areas across Australia, claiming a readership that rivalled that of The Age. Its major editors are conservative politicians, journalists, and content creators.
Brigid approaches this case study through digital cartographic mapping of the newspaper’s circulation, a content analysis of the publication, and interviews with authors, editors, and distributors. She describes The Light as an example of dark alternative media: an outlet which positions itself as having a relational identity (going up against mainstream media); alternative aesthetics (using non-standard formats and storytelling techniques); editorial independence; a participatory ethos (involving the community); and other distinct features.
It does more than simply push conspiracy theories, and blends various alternative and deceptive genres: it is alternative, populist, promotes far-right views, polarisation, and radicalisation, and publishes harmful disinformation. There are growing calls for the regulation of such media, and such dark alternative media should not be simply lumped together with other forms of alternative media – in particular, there is a lack of transparency and accountability here.
It is also important to explore the operation of such media as cross-platform outlets, to examine their epistemic styles, to study their distribution strategies, and to understand their appeals to audiences.
