The articles in this thematic issue, each in their own way, provide relevant and original contributions to the ongoing debate. Ricknell (2020) provides a constructive framework that allows for a structured discussion of the possible scenarios. Glazunova’s (2020) analysis of a Russian case is original since the current research trend within media and populism is to focus on the rise of populist politicians in democratic Western countries (Krämer & Holtz-Bacha, 2020). Glazunova’s analysis shows that alternative media platforms can serve important political and ideological purposes in certain media landscapes, while at the same time being a channel for populist messages, targeting a Media and Communication, 2020, Volume 8, Issue 4, Pages 107–109 108 corrupt elite. Latif’s (2020) contribution also addresses a complex and sensitive question from an unusual perspective for media scholars: What public positions are realistically available for Muslim intellectuals in America today? It describes the dynamics of cancel culture that should be taken more seriously by the community of media scholars. Wegner et al. (2020) emphasize the fact that it is not only journalists who are put in harm’s way, the silencing of other voices is indeed a reality and is equally harmful and problematic. As an area of interest to media scholars, issues such as these deserve further attention.