Parasitic news: Adoption and adaption of journalistic conventions in hybrid political communication

This article explores how political parties and individual politicians in Sweden communicate strategically an online environment where the close relationship between news journalistic institutions no longer can be taken for granted. We define adoption adaption of conventions communication as a particular style, conceptualized “parasitic news”. The presents analytical framework that explicates role parasitic across five dimensions: ideological transparency/position, alternativeness, genres, vs. collective media practices, social affordances. An analysis three projects, representing right-wing populist, liberal/conservative, left-wing/green positions, reveals is flexible style blurs boundaries politics spaces. Moreover, challenges relevance established terms such alternative, hyper-partisan, fake news, pointing to need renewed conceptual vocabulary journalism, research.