When Things Just Don't Feel Right

This chapter investigates the self-understanding and narrative practices of Finnish social media influencers engaged in counterpublic discourse. Drawing on interviews with 25 influencers who share anti-establishment, conspiratorial, or spiritual content, this study explores how these microcelebrities articulate their political and epistemic positions. Building on Jacques Rancire's concept of dissensus , this chapter analyzes how the influencers construct authority through therapeutic discourse, prophetic foresight, and aestheticized knowledge practices that challenge mainstream epistemologies. Rather than framing these actors through the lens of extremism or naivety, the authors argue for a more nuanced understanding of how marginalized knowledge and populist sentiment converge in digitally mediated counterpublics. The analysis shows that these influencers mobilize a spirit of populism that fuses personal authenticity, spiritual awakening, and epistemic critique, offering a redemptive vision of politics rooted in inner conduct and outsider status. This chapter contributes to scholarship on populism, media, and political spirituality by illuminating how affective and aesthetic strategies shape grassroots dissent in an age of polarization.