Warning! May contain traces of populism.

In mid-February, a video on the YouTube channel of science journalist Mai Thi Nguyen-Kim went viral. The reason: Mai criticized the current government and populist propaganda within politics in her post, announcing that she could no longer stand by and watch: "If you want it to be good, you just have to do it yourself." As a reaction, a discussion erupted on social networks about whether Mai had hinted in the video that she might now become politically active herself. Several newspapers such as Der Spiegel or the Berliner Zeitung even speculated that Mai might want to start her own party. Ultimately, the video turned out to be an example of populism and a marketing hack for Mai's new season of the show "MAITHINK X". As Mai explained in the latest episode, she used populist stylistic devices to show how susceptible many people are to populism. She also pointed out that it is even more difficult to expose it when it is practiced by people who are generally viewed positively and from whom one would not expect populist statements. Populist characteristics Populist speeches often refer to the "people" or the "will of the people." These terms suggest that the "people" are a unity, meaning they have a uniform opinion. However, in a functioning democracy, pluralism of opinions plays a significant role – meaning that different political positions or life attitudes are allowed and desired. Speaking of the "one will of the people" is undemocratic before this definition. Equally critical is the choice of words "the others." The "we" is positively connoted in this context, while "the others" are negatively connoted. This is not just black-and-white thinking: suggesting that there are only two extreme positions on a certain issue also creates an enemy image. Populists often provide simple solutions to complex issues – what may sound positive is unfortunately too good to be true. In populism, complex societal issues are often simplified, claiming that there are very simple answers to complicated questions. In addition, contents are often dramatized and emotionalized or alleged facts are presented without supporting them with scientific evidence. You can find illustrative examples of the characteristics listed here in the video.