Alt-Platformisation: Evolution of Fringe Communication and Political Discourses Through and with the Web

This chapter introduces the concept of Alt-platformisation to describe the contingent processes through which user communities create, adapt, and migrate across digital platforms to sustain socio-political discourses. Tracing the evolution of digital communication from early bulletin board systems to contemporary social media, the chapter highlights how platform governance, content moderation, and ideological tensions have driven users-particularly those aligned with fringe or counter-hegemonic views-to seek or establish alternative digital spaces. These migrations are not merely technical shifts but are deeply embedded in socio-political, discursive, and material dynamics. The chapter proposes a spectrum of alt-platformisation, ranging from niche communities within mainstream platforms to fully independent ecosystems like Gab. It critiques binary classifications of “mainstream” versus “fringe,” arguing instead for a nuanced understanding of how communities leverage platform affordances to navigate exclusion, censorship, and ideological conflict. Through case studies of platforms such as Reddit, Facebook, Mastodon, Bluesky, and Gab, the chapter illustrates how both pro-social and exclusionary communities engage in alt-platformisation. Finally, it offers a theoretical framework to study the evolving interplay between digital infrastructures, governance, and political discourse, emphasising the need for context-sensitive approaches to understanding alternative digital communication spaces.