Digital Folklore of Political Elections in Hungary 2014

In the 21st century, digital media (including e-mails, videos, blogs and social networks) play an important role in political communication. This stands not only for the official communication of political campaigns, but for political folklore conveyed by Internet and mobile phones as well, that is also suitable for shaping and strengthening group identity beyond the transmission of political message. The Hungarian folklore of political elections has been investigated by several scholars in the last few years (e.g. Geza Balazs, Ilona Nagy, Tamas Bodoky). In our present study we examine the parliamentary elections in Hungary, 2014 and the preceding campaign focusing on the related digital folklore. Interpreting Internet as a field of collecting we seek the answer to the digital folklore reacting quickly to the actual events whether fit into the structure of traditional folklore genre. If so, what is the relationship between texts and genres of traditional and digital folklore? How repetitive folklore elements appearing throughout the campaign can be identified? How should we interpret them? Is it possible to distinguish certain schematic patterns of thinking in the election folklore? We approach the election folklore from a folkloristic point of view, which is thoroughly scrutinized formerly by social and media scientist from other perspectives. We also focus on how new forms of phenomena can be expected within this framework of interpretation.