Articles by Mimi Mihăilescu

November 29, 2024

Why manele music was the soundtrack to Romania’s presidential race

Mimi Mihăilescu

Gypsy folk-pop – manele – played a key role in Romania’s 2024 presidential elections. In Roma tradition, manele expresses celebration and resilience. But Mimi Mihăilescu argues that for decades, Romania's politicians have exploited this musical genre for their own ends.

November 28, 2024

How Călin Georgescu's TikTok tactics rewired Romanian politics

Mimi Mihăilescu

In an unexpected twist to Romania’s 2024 presidential election, Călin Georgescu, virtually unknown a year ago, has emerged as a serious contender. Georgescu's ascent has been marked by antisemitic rhetoric, anti-Western discourse, and a sophisticated disinformation strategy. This, argues Mimi Mihăilescu, reveals the vulnerabilities of modern politics to social media manipulation.

November 6, 2024

How Dark MAGA memes are shaping radical belief systems

Mimi Mihăilescu

Online memes have evolved from satirical messages to powerful ideological tools. Recently, the far-right 'Dark MAGA' movement has harnessed memes for political messaging and identity-building. Mimi Mihăilescu describes how Elon Musk has emerged as an anti-establishment symbol: revered, weaponised, and transformed within these radicalised online communities.

October 9, 2024

Meme warfare in Romania: the manipulation of public consciousness

Mimi Mihăilescu

Far-right Romanian presidential candidate George Simion is not just running a campaign, he’s waging a meme war. In today’s digital age, argues Mimi Mihăilescu, the way politicians communicate with the public has fundamentally shifted – and internet memes are emerging as powerful weapons for shaping public perception and discourse.

Mimi Mihăilescu

PhD Candidate, University of Bath

Mihaela's research passion lies at the intersection of internet culture and politics, exploring the deep and complicated world of memes, social media networking, and digital media studies.

Her work critically examines the dynamic and transformative nature of online communities, contributing valuable insights to the field of digital media.

@HereIsMimi95

LinkedIn profile

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