ABSTRACT
This chapter reveals Breitbart advances the assertion of identity fundamentalism in an age of elite networked selves. Breitbart's various contributors reject contemporary pluralist, multicultural democracy, economic and institutional globalization, and cosmopolitanism in favor of an American democracy premised upon white, Christian American identity. As a site, Breitbart is prone to disinformation, selective editing, faux outrage, and juvenile tactics of dishonest "gotcha" journalism. An analysis of the articles published on Breitbart during and immediately after the election reveals the ideology of Breitbart's contributors, the stories they told themselves about American politics, and their collective political identity as a movement. Breitbart's contributor entwines white identity with populist-nationalism, celebrating an insurgent Trump candidacy and a new nationalism he rhetorically stood for during the campaign that will benefit white people. Breitbart is the symbolic media, and organizing platform, for a defensive cultural commune that rejects diversity, global institutions, and an expansive, cosmopolitan worldview in favor of white, Christian, and American nationalism.
