Explaining the rise of anti-immigrant parties: The role of news media content

Anti-immigrant populism is on the rise throughout western Europe. Traditionally, economic and immigration-related factors are used to explain support for anti-immigrant parties at the aggregate level. Until recently, the role of news media has received only limited attention. The present study assesses the power of news content as an explanatory contextual factor, simultaneously controlling for the unemployment rate, the level of immigration, and leadership in the Netherlands for the period from 1990 to 2002. The results show that the prominence of immigration issues in national newspapers has a significant and positive impact: The more news media reported about immigration-related topics, the higher the aggregate share of vote intention for anti-immigrant parties, even when controlling for real-world developments. Future research explaining anti-immigrant party success needs to take into account the role of news media content.