Literally from the abstract in the link: "The findings reveal that, overall, far-right populist discourses in alt-tech communities predominantly support the processes of democracy and uphold most (though not all) of its values. Understanding these discourses is crucial for safeguarding liberal democracy in a context of rising illiberalism."
I have read the article! It's not much about this subject, nor making a particularly strong case for what is and isn't included in a definition of democracy. I wonder why you are quoting it at me and not at the other commenter?
Complaining about “populism” being a problem for “democracy” is a bit of a contradiction. Putting aside the vagaries of US politics, Orban in Hungry won 55% of the vote. Modi in India has a 76% approval rating.
Right-wing populism has an authoritarian element, but that partly arises from responding to the power of non-democratic left-wing entities. For example, even liberal California decisively rejected affirmative action when it was put to a referendum. But it’s enormously popular in non-democratic institutions (corporations, academia, media), that have a lot of cultural power. Right-wing efforts to tamp down on that are authoritarian, but not anti-democratic.
Alternatively, for example, when you poll people about the ideal level of immigration to the US, their numbers are much lower than the actual numbers. If you decided US immigration policy via direct democracy, it would be far more restrictive. But opposing immigration is also painted as anti-democratic.
