"The emergence of alternative media is linked to the progressive social movements of the 1960s and 1970s, which aimed to democratize media production and amplify marginalized voices. Recently, regressive news sites have emerged, claiming to be “alternative” despite their far-right ideologies. As a result, some independent “digital natives” in Latin America reject the “alternative” label. In disinformation studies, scholars often use the term ‘alternative’ to describe media outlets that oppose mainstream institutions without critically addressing power dynamics. Critical media scholars argue that labeling the far right as a counter-public under the ‘alternative’ banner risks equating undemocratic groups with those advocating for democracy. The global right-wing movement is more accurately characterized as “defensive” publics due to its alignment with systemic inequalities. We contend that the right wing’s alignment with systemic inequalities, coupled with its tenuous relationship with truth, distinguishes it from progressive alternative publics. While independent digital-native media often incorporate fact-checking units to combat disinformation, right-wing outlets are significant sources of falsehoods. These outlets exploit democratic rhetoric and distort constructivist views of facts to advance anti-democratic agendas. To illustrate this tactic, the article examines the mission statements of regressive ‘alternative’ media identified by factcheckers in 2022 across eight countries in Europe and Latin America: Germany, theUK, Portugal, Spain, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and Venezuela. By analyzing these regressive outlets’ mission statements, we uncover their illiberal discursive strategies and how they co-opt democratic rhetoric to advance exclusionary goals." (Abstract)