This article explores the phenomenon around the politicization of domestic space by netizens

active on Instagram during the COVID-19 pandemic. It illuminates how influencers, particularly
females, used digital platforms to spread populist narratives that challenged traditional expertise
while simultaneously showcasing their aspirational lifestyles. As the COVID-19 epidemic blurred
the boundaries between family and politics on Instagram, Czech opinion leaders linked
narratives about COVID-19 to lifestyle and family aesthetics, and used the opportunity to
position themselves as political authorities. Through the process of politicization of the family,
populist narratives were successfully brought from marginal spaces to mainstream online media
spaces. In addition to this, this study emphasizes the gender dimension in online populism,
discussing how female influencers deal with the tension between lifestyle aspirations and
political discourse, as well as the interaction of local contexts on global platforms. Through
careful digital ethnography and content analysis, the authors reveal the gendered dynamics of
online populism and examine the transformative impact of pandemics on social media
discourse.

According to this article, online influencers position themselves as alternative authorities,

challenging the dominant consensus by emphasizing intuition, daily experience, and maternal
instincts over the knowledge of specialized science. They promote intuitive reasoning and daily
experience, which is similar to the blurred boundaries of the connection between digital
interactions and real life during the pandemic. Influencers strikes a delicate balance between
enhancing lifestyles and engaging in socio-political discourse, using this to empathize with
female audiences, reshaping public narratives in the process. In this way, the study sheds light
on the gendered dimensions of populism, showing readers that female influencers play an
integral role in spreading populism, even if it has long been dominated by male political figures.
This study shows how female influencers exert influence and construct alternative authority
online. Furthermore, the article emphasizes how influencers in the Czech Republic use local
history, such as communist regimes, to support their populist narratives. By linking today's
politics to past events, they make their content more relevant and influential in the Czech-
speaking online community. This localization strategy helps legitimize their message and
bridges the gap between historical context and contemporary issues, thus helping populist ideas
proliferate online. This study, which combines digital ethnography, and interviews to analyze
and understand the impact of influencers on populist narratives, is a large and meaningful
complement to the dynamics of online discourse during the COVID-19 period.

As we can imagine, examples of public attempts to engage in political discourse are not
uncommon. During the epidemic, China also witnessed the emergence of a group of people
who expressed strong dissatisfaction online with the mandatory, strict censorship and control
measures, arguing that the state overemphasized notions of altruism, collectivism, and self-
sacrifice. And in China, the fight against COVID-19 was often inextricably intertwined with
nationalist sentiment and heroism. The government's obsession with publicizing stories of
sacrifices made by medical workers and volunteers, as well as military personnel, and
emphasizing the resilience of the Chinese people and their self-sacrifice and seeming
selflessness for the greater good, has fostered a growing sense of national pride among the
masses, but in fact has tended to turn patriotism towards ethnocentrism in some quarters of the
population.

Although this paper effectively explores the politicization of domestic space by the Instagram
influencers during the pandemic, it is essential to critically examine the generalizability of its
findings. The focus on Czech opinion leaders may limit the broad applicability of the study, as
cultural and contextual differences can significantly influence online behavior. In addition, the
paper delves into the gender dynamics of online populism, emphasizing the role of female
influencers. While this gendered perspective is valuable, it could benefit from a more detailed
examination of power dynamics in cyberspace, taking into account how influencer behavior
relates to issues of race, class, and privilege. Additionally, the study highlights the use of local
history by netizens to support populist narratives as a strategy to connect with Czech
audiences. However, it also leaves open the possibility of manipulating historical events for
political purposes. Despite these considerations, this paper makes a significant contribution to
the understanding of online populism and provides valuable insights into the complex
relationship between lifestyle narratives, political discourse and gender dynamics on digital
platforms.