Reaching a larger audience: Content-related strategies of the far right on VK

The recent global rise of far-right ideologies has been accompanied by the normalization of these ideas in online communication. However, little is known about the strategies employed by the far right to drive this trend, particularly outside Western countries and major platforms. This study addresses these gaps by conducting a systematic content analysis of far-right content on VK (VKontakte), the most widely used Russian social network, to examine the content’s characteristics that facilitate the mainstreaming of the far right. Findings indicate that far-right actors leverage agenda-setting mechanisms and adopt news-like formats to embed xenophobic and exclusionary narratives within the broader mainstream Russian discourse. This study contributes to research on far-right content-related strategies and the interplay between non-Western contexts, digital affordances, and far-right communication in less regulated online spaces.