Page - 121 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 07/02

Making Space, Claiming Place | 121www.jrfm.eu 2021, 7/2, 107–131 DENK employs social media platforms in similar ways. Known from the start for their particular “fire-on-fire” political style, they were digitally ac- tive early on and started their own platforms on social media. Their YouTube channel, fittingly called DENK TV, is particularly well known. Not only did the infamous “Don’t trust the media” video appear on this channel, but other videos also became known for the deliberate ways they framed other parties, individual politicians, and debates such that they fitted into their narrative.70 It is worth mentioning that humor and satire seem to play a regular role in many of these videos. For example in a YouTube video, DENK compares a few of their fellow parliament members to the Daltons, a fictional crime gang, and another video suggests that right-wing politicians suffer from xenophobia and should all move to an island (fig. 2).71 For DENK, the strat- egy based on mockery and ridicule became an effective part of their social media presence in relation to two particular “enemy” groups: right-wing parties and their politicians, and, less directly, politicians who have an Is- lamic- and migration background but are considered by DENK to have “sold out” to established parties and betrayed their communities.72 Other examples of how humor and satire come into play include DENK’s parodic response to a well-known satirical Dutch television program short- ly before the elections in March 2021,73 and NIDA’s 2014 Valentine’s Day campaign, in which they “broke up” with the PvdA for profiting off Muslim communities to gain votes during the election of 2014 with a humorous postcard.74 This postcard campaign was launched on their social media plat- forms, but printed postcards were also sent to various cultural, societal, and religious organizations in Rotterdam.75 The postcard included a mock break- up text from the NIDA voter criticizing the PvdA for going along with right- 70 For example, by “hijacking” offline events and spinning them in a way that fits their narrative on social media; see Loukili 2020. 71 DENK TV 2018a; 2018b. 72 The president of the House of Representatives, Khadija Arib, regularly features in DENK’s videos. They suggest that Arib, a woman with a Moroccan and Islamic background, panders to parties and politicians who have worked against ethnic, cultural, and religious diversity (which according to DENK, accounts for most, if not all, established parties). 73 In response to a dig by comedian Arjan Lubach, Farid Azarkan (DENK’s current political leader) produced a hilarious rap song, gaining over 90,000 views on their official YouTube channel; see DENK TV 2021. 74 NIDA 2014. 75 Wij blijven hier 2014.