Founded in June 2013 for people aged 14 to 35 years, the JA was the de facto youth wing of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party until it was officially recognised as such in November 2015.

[8] Nigel Farage's presence apparently led to a deterioration in relations with Bernd Lucke, the then-AfD leader, who called the move a "sign of poor political tact.

[12][13] Sections of the German media labelled election campaign material of the JA which showed attractive women in swimwear under the slogan "equality instead of uniformity" as in bad taste.

[14] In January 2015, the JA adopted its first statute, establishing basic organisational processes, and applied to become the official youth wing of the national party; the application was refused.

[18] Less than three weeks later, Neumann resigned after pressure from AfD leaders over racist and white supremacist social media posts which the party feared would lead to the group being designated an extremist organisation.

[20] Since 2023, the JA has been classified as a right-wing extremist organisation by the German national intelligence service Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) after being a case of suspicion and an object of observation since 2019.

[3] In December 2024, the main party of the AfD announced its intention to cut ties with the JA in connection to its classification by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution.

[27][28] According to researcher Anna-Lena Herkenhoff, members of the Junge Alternative "repeatedly stand out due to public statements that are astoundingly compatible with extreme right-wing discourse.

"[29] The sociologist alludes to statements by Markus Frohnmaier and Robert Wasiliew, that exemplify how "the Junge Alternative uses a common right-wing, racist discourse" and follows a "public relations strategy typical of the extreme right".