Clowning around a polarized issue: Rhetorical strategies and communicative outcomes of a political parody performance by Loldiers of Odin

For decades, political activist groups have used humor for ridiculing their opponents and attracting media attention. This study analyzed the online presence of Loldiers Odin, a clown-disguised group created as parody anti-immigration Soldiers Odin. By analyzing rhetorical strategies Loldiers’ performance, we show how absurd naïve stunts were to criticize street patrolling, distort radical right-wing discourses, mobilize like-minded progressives. Furthermore, by Facebook commentary trace its communicative outcomes: support legitimization, but also problematization delegitimization. Our results highlight unpredictable ambivalent nature in facilitating protest. We argue that while offers compelling way citizens discursively engage with issues such immigration question, polysemic paradoxically works amplify existing polarized positions discussions.