The Anti-Authoritarian Toolkit, by D-HUB
Volume 02 | Digital Comms

Fandoms and Hatedoms

Building high-intensity political communities.

The Play

In a world of complex and fragmented identities, communities built on shared emotion have become more relevant—offering connection, common stories, active participation, and a sense of belonging.

A fandom is a community fueled by shared passion; a hatedom forms around shared aversion. Borrowed from pop culture, this model can be a powerful political tactic—helping build deeper, emotionally charged bonds with your base.

A political fandom centers on the authenticity and humanity of a leader—highlighting personal stories, struggles, and informal moments that reflect core values. A hatedom, by contrast, unites people through shared opposition, turning critique into a driver of collective action.

Whether built or partnered with, fandoms and hatedoms bring intensity, reach, and authenticity—supercharging your movement's emotional momentum.

Why it works

  • Emotion powers mobilization. Strong feelings—positive or negative—drive people to act, not just passively observe.
  • Communities create momentum. Active fandoms and hatedoms generate waves of engagement that amplify political reach.
  • Passion spreads across networks. When people care deeply, they share, recruit, and pull others into the cause.
  • Fun fuels energy. Humor and satire make political engagement feel dynamic, social, and contagious.

How it works

1. Map, Analyze, Learn

Spot them and find what they have in common. Study their tactics, content, and how they engage. This kind of mapping helps you identify which fandoms you can connect with—and shows you how to build your own.

2. Understand the keys to making a fandom (or hatedom) work

Once you are familiar with other active fandoms, you will be able to interpret and operate the usual keys for launching a political fandom (or hatedom).

Humanness and authenticity

Building a political fandom involves highlighting genuine aspects of a leader and emphasizing their expressed system of values, generally through lifestyle topics with a good dose of informal, day-to-day footage. A political fandom is not a space for traditional political discourse but rather for personal stories, challenges overcome, and individual successes that can be shared.

Emotional narrative

A political fandom makes use of an emotional narrative. It doesn't aim to inform—it aims to connect. Fandoms are not spaces for discussing public policy proposals or advertising speeches from a podium but for sharing aspects of personal life that can be connected, like metaphors, with political messages.

Fun, memes, and behind-the-scenes info

Fandoms feed fans with cool content about idols, funny memes, hot news, and backstage updates. Providing unique and engaging material keeps the fandom alive and brings fans back for more.

Active participation

Fandoms thrive on active followers and a strong sense of belonging. Fuel participation with simple missions or activities. Create space for members to contribute—whether by making content, joining events, or just showing up.

Respect

Respecting different opinions is key to building trust and real connection. Set simple rules that protect free expression while making sure everyone is treated with respect.

3. Build Your Own Fandom (or Hatedom)

You've got the ingredients—now build your fandom. Use this guideline. Stay active on social media and post consistently. Tap into your networks, partners, influencers, and media coverage to spread the word and power your launch.

4. Keep Analyzing, Keep Improving

Keep a close eye on your fandom (or hatedom). Track what's working—and what's not—by monitoring engagement, feedback, and community sentiment. This ongoing analysis helps you spot winning tactics and areas to improve.

Adaptability is key. When you stay tuned in to your followers' shifting interests and needs, you can adjust your strategy and keep your political fandom active, relevant, and growing.

Tips

A. Direct Followers Towards WhatsApp Groups

To foster more intimate connections, you can also guide fans (or haters) towards a system of WhatsApp groups (or the common messaging service in your country) to maintain daily interactions with them. Providing more private spaces in messaging apps enables people to open up more, and interacting in a controlled and increasingly familiar environment strengthens the bonds between them. These groups will become your most engaged base, and these loyal followers will definitely expand the reach of your political messages at key moments in a campaign.

B. Be Wise and Careful When Using Fear

A hatedom inevitably involves content that instills a sense of apprehension about the chaos, disaster, and irresponsibility of your authoritarian political opponents. However, it's crucial to introduce and install tangible and factual fears. A common mistake is relying on abstract fears—like 'rupture', 'dictator' or 'fascism'—which rarely mobilize effectively. If the content is too fear-heavy, it will damage your credibility and backfire, just by simply turning people off. The key to a successful hatedom is finding the right balance in the fear factor while blending it with fun and engaging content. It is often better to mock authoritarian leaders than to present them as powerful figures.

Who's done it well?

Brazil: Lulaverso and Bolsoflix

Organizing Fans and Haters

Lulaverso —a Lula fandom— emerged in Brazil to mobilize voters who admired Lula but weren't yet politically active. His campaign saw the need to go beyond traditional Workers' Party (PT) supporters and engage people on a deeper, emotional level. That meant creating a new brand and visual language to reach them.

Lulaverso deliberately avoided traditional political content about Lula and Brazil's political scene. Instead, it tapped into more relatable spaces like gossip and entertainment. The goal was to shift Lula's image from a "boring," serious politician to someone dynamic, approachable, and fun.

It spotlighted Lula's human side—the charismatic leader who had achieved real gains for Brazil—while projecting that positive image into the future.

The campaign also had to reach younger generations who hadn't lived through Lula's earlier presidency. The focus was on showing how much he had done for the country and its people. What stood out was how different the reactions to Lulaverso were from those in typical political campaigns—leading the team to prioritize engagement metrics and qualitative analysis to better understand its impact.

"Lulaverso allowed us to connect emotionally with those who saw Lula as more than just a politician. We humanized him, made him approachable, and made people feel like they were part of something bigger than just a political campaign."

Bolsoflix—a hatedom built around Bolsonaro—took the opposite approach. Instead of inspiring support, the goal was to channel existing anger by spotlighting the most controversial parts of his presidency. While Lulaverso aimed to build love for Lula, Bolsoflix was designed to turn people away from Bolsonaro.

Building fandoms or hatedoms isn't easy, but hatedoms often come with more built-in cohesion. People tend to be more inclined towards expressing disdain for politicians rather than admiration. Both campaigns leaned on key opinion leaders and media outlets, while fueling engagement through WhatsApp groups and social media to spark viral momentum.

"With Bolsoflix, we avoided using excessive or abstract fear. We focused on showing Bolsonaro's tangible failures, but mixed them with humor and satire. Mockery was more effective than fear because people connected better with the criticism without feeling overwhelmed."

Thailand: Move Forward Party

From Fans to Political Champions

Ahead of the 2023 Thai general election, the Move Forward Party (MFP) built one of the most engaged political fandoms in recent history, transforming supporters from passive admirers into active political agents. This fandom, known as Dom Som (a play on "fandom" and the party's orange color), emerged both online and offline, significantly shaping MFP's campaign and political trajectory.

At the heart of this fandom was party leader Pita Limjaroenrat, who built an emotional bond with the public by presenting himself as an "ordinary hero." He blended pop culture with politics, turning his fashion, music taste, and personal life into part of the campaign's story. Pita's personal brand laid the groundwork for a fandom that later grew around the broader MFP identity. He shared intimate moments with his daughter on platforms like Instagram, boosting a "celebrity status" that clicked with young voters. This approach turned casual followers into loyal fans, emotionally invested in his success.

While Pita was the initial face of Dom Som, the real spark came from the movement's fight against the political establishment. Government efforts to block MFP—banning its predecessor, Future Forward, and disqualifying Pita from becoming Prime Minister—turned the party into a symbol of resistance and hope.

MFP's inclusive strategy deepened engagement by inviting members to co-create content and shape policy through initiatives like the Think Forward Center. The party also ran protest leaders as candidates, blending activism with institutional politics. This approach echoed pop-culture narratives, casting MFP as the underdog taking on entrenched powers—like the heroes of Harry Potter or The Hunger Games.

Crucially, Dom Som actively shaped party decisions. When the party sought a coalition with Korn Chatikavanij, a politician linked to past military coups, public backlash erupted. The viral hashtag #มีกรณ์ไม่มีกู ("If you have Korn, you don't have me") forced MFP to abandon the alliance. This moment underscored the power of MFP's fandom not just as a support base but as a force holding the party accountable—a stark contrast to traditional political loyalty rooted in patronage systems.

The fandom also mastered digital strategies, particularly on TikTok, where organic canvassers voluntarily created and shared content, from memes to viral videos. Platforms like @Thailanddebate edited key debate moments, framing MFP representatives as victorious. This grassroots digital activism helped MFP dominate online narratives and connect with younger audiences who might otherwise be disengaged from politics.

'A key factor in the fandom's strength was MFP's ability to listen to public concerns and integrate them into its campaign vision, master compromise to unite diverse groups, and use humor to cut through political noise, defuse tension, and 'laugh their way to victory.' These elements turned political engagement into a cultural movement.'

Learn more

D-Hub resources

Other resources

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Networks of Influencers

Amplify your reach with a robust social infrastructure.

Social Listening & Sentiment Analysis

Capture the Real-time Pulse of Society to Connect with Diverse Audiences