Artificial intelligence in political communication and citizens’ perceptions of disinformation and democratic legitimacy in Ecuador

This study employs AI-powered computational discourse analysis to examine Instagram® posts by 18 Colombian women politicians, focusing on polarisation, emotion, and manipulative narratives related to gender issues. Analysing 2843 relevant posts from a corpus of 37,308, the research utilises word frequency analysis, Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA), emotion detection, and semantic networks. Findings reveal a low lexical focus on “mujer” (woman), diverse thematic framings reflecting distinct policy priorities, and a predominant use of positive, trust-building sentiment, although with significant undercurrents of negative emotion. The study identifies patterns of strategic narrative construction, highlighting a complex interplay of performative advocacy, policy specialisation, and identity construction. This gendered digital political discourse is further characterized by a disregard for previously achieved women's rights, the reinforcement of gender stereotypes, and a pronounced polarisation along political lines, which is suggestive of “femwashing.” This research contributes to understanding women's digital political communication in Latin America. • AI analysis reveals distinct gender narratives on Instagram. • Discourse blends trust-building with underlying fear and anger. • Ideological divides hinder a unified women's rights agenda. • Semantic networks map strategic framing of gender issues. • Results suggest “femwashing” and reinforcement of stereotypes.

ABSTRACT Extant practices of digital governance, including platform regulations and state–platform interactions in contemporary Nigeria, have produced new patterns of marginalisation within the social media environment. Conventional explanations of minority tend to view the phenomenon often from the ethno-linguistic, religious and regional perspectives. As such, existing engagements tend to gloss over the ways that digital regulatory practices highlight unequal treatment, selective enforcement, and informal repression to produce differentiated exclusion within digital spaces. Yet, evidence emanating from the state-social media regulatory interactions shows that certain actors, practices, and communicative positions within the social media are marginalised. This paper situates minority beyond the conventional configuration and conceives it as a relational condition of power, vulnerability and unequal treatment within digitally mediated public spheres. Drawing on theories of the public sphere and emerging scholarship on digital authoritarianism and communication rights in Africa, the article contends that social media actors, particularly politically dissenting communities are increasingly subjected to regulatory, economic, and algorithmic restrictions that make them functionally marginal despite the criticality of digital platforms in contemporary political communication. Rather than portraying social media as innately marginal, the study shows how processes of minoritisation operate within the prevailing digital ecosystem reshaping participation, visibility and democratic engagement.

ABSTRACT How do authoritarian regimes that rely on the disengagement of their citizens adapt to the demands of a major international conflict, particularly in political communication? Instead of risking potential destabilization by exclusively turning to mobilizing messages, we propose that a more dynamic rhetorical adaptation will follow, with a mixture of mobilizing, legitimating, and co-opting messages in the state media and – hitherto underexplored subject of authoritarian propaganda – public communication of the rank-and-file elites during an armed conflict. We argue that such elites, while generally reflecting the official propaganda in speech, will, however, display less war-mobilizing messages if they are more distant from the autocrat’s agenda; there will also be agency loss due to electoral individual incentives. Drawing from an originally collected dataset of 144,567 social media posts by Russia’s members of parliament during the military conflict against Ukraine, 2022–23, and using word embeddings and topic classification methods, supplementing with alternative approaches and accounting for the audience, we find support for the argument that the social media posts by individual MPs reflect not only centrally directed messages but also their own political and electoral incentives. These findings illuminate how political communication mediates the effects of external conflict on authoritarian resilience, also contributing to the literatures on authoritarian parliaments and legitimation, as well as social media under autocracies.

This study aimed to determine the direct impact of political communication on Yemeni political entities during the public referendum on the Constitution of Yemeni Unity. It evaluated the ability of various political factions to persuade the voting public of their respective visions and examined the implications of the referendum results for the stability of Yemeni unity. The study adopted a descriptive approach to monitor communication influences and a comparative approach to analyze the competing narratives. Furthermore, a historical method and statistical content analysis were utilized to evaluate the referendum data from May 15–16, 1991, and related political documents. The study highlighted several findings such as political entities that demonstrated superior performance in political communication during the referendum successfully reinforced the sanctity of national loyalty and the integrity of the unified Yemeni state. Moreover, the referendum process remained as a practical demonstration of the public's commitment to a unified national identity. The study provided several recommendations such as political entities that opposed the referendum should correct their political stance and align their objectives with the sanctity of the Yemeni territory. Thus, priority must be given to the sanctity of the Yemen and national loyalty in all political future stages.

The 2024 U.S. presidential election was historically unprecedented, featuring the first Black woman on a major party ticket, a late-stage Democratic nominee replacement, and the return of former President Donald Trump. This study provides a longitudinal analysis of how mainstream news coverage shifted in topic salience and tone before and after the election. Using socially mediated news articles from five high-circulation U.S. newspapers (January 2024–January 2025), we filtered for coverage of Joe Biden, Donald Trump, and Kamala Harris and applied topic modeling, network-based content analysis, and sentiment analysis to examine shifts in media narratives. We find that coverage was dominated by campaign strategy and legal conflict, while policy-focused topics declined as the election approached, consistent with research on strategy framing. Sentiment analysis reveals persistent negativity across candidates, particularly in coverage of Trump and in cross-candidate reporting, reflecting negativity bias in political news. In contrast, Kamala Harris experienced a temporary increase in positive tone following her nomination, consistent with post-nomination “honeymoon” effects. These findings demonstrate how mainstream media reconstruct electoral narratives in response to political shocks, reinforcing core theories in political communication.

In contemporary American politics, representation by the underrepresented has become both a marker of progress and a site of contention, particularly when intersecting with race and gender. This study critically examines Kamala Harris as a political object through which broader societal tensions surrounding power, identity and legitimacy manifest. Drawing from Object-Oriented Ontology (OOO) and critical political communication, the article interrogates how Harris’s political trajectory reflects the structural biases that continue to shape perceptions of leadership and authority. As the first female, Black and South Asian Democrat Presidential candidate, Harris occupies a paradoxical position – her historic election to the office of the Vice President initially signified progress, yet the racialized and gendered scrutiny she faced during the 2024 presidential election campaigns illustrates the enduring barriers to true political equity. Through an analysis of media discourse and historical case studies, this study reveals how Harris’s struggles on the fronts of colour and gender disrupt, yet simultaneously reinforce, dominant power structures. Her presidential pursuit highlights the limitations of symbolic representation, exposing how race and gender continue to dictate the terms of political legitimacy. By situating Harris within the broader struggles of marginalized politicians, this study advances critical discussions on political representation, structural inequities and the ongoing tensions between diversity and power in American democracy.

Memes, Youth and Political Communication: An Analysis of Memetic Discourses of Political Parties During 2024 Lok Sabha Elections

This study aims to examine the forms and functions of commissive speech acts in political discourse found in live broadcast videos of the Red and White Cabinet Meeting uploaded on YouTube. Using a qualitative descriptive approach, the research focuses on utterances containing commissive speech acts delivered by meeting participants during the sessions. Data collection was conducted through observation and note-taking, while data analysis applied Charles Morris’s pragmalinguistic model, including data collection, categorization, analysis, and conclusion drawing. The results reveal 20 instances of commissive speech acts, consisting of promises (45%), intentions (25%), offers (10%), and guarantees (20%). Promises and intentions are the most dominant, functioning to provide certainty, demonstrate commitment, reassure, and build public trust. Offer speech acts are used to propose policies, whereas guarantees aim to convince interlocutors and the public about the continuity of government programs. These findings indicate that commissive speech acts play a strategic role in political communication to strengthen legitimacy, commitment, and trust. The study further suggests that the use of commissive speech acts in digital spaces serves as an instrument for public accountability.

This article examines Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s open letter to the American people as an instrument of public diplomacy and strategic narrative during the Iran–United States conflict. Its novelty lies in analyzing an underexplored diplomatic form, namely a head-of-state open letter addressed directly to the civilian public of a rival state. Using a qualitative document-based case study, the study analyzes one purposively selected primary text supported by contextual news reports and recent scholarship, with observations focused on materials published in April 2026. The findings show that the letter constructs Iran’s self-legitimation, delegitimizes U.S. policy, mobilizes historical memory, and separates the American government from the American people, implying that open letters can function as strategic political communication in contemporary geopolitical conflict

In the digital era, the manner in which individuals access political information has undergone significant transformation, with social media platforms emerging as the primary source for individuals aged 18–30 years. This study employs an expanded technology acceptance model (TAM) to investigate how factors, such as perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, trust in platforms, and digital literacy, influence the political news consumption habits of young users in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India. Utilizing a quantitative cross-sectional survey involving 250 participants from this region, the research examines the relationships between these elements and behavioral intentions related to political engagement on social media. The principal findings reveal that perceived usefulness (β = 0.42, p < .001) and trust (β = 0.31, p < .01) are significant predictors of behavioral intention, whereas digital literacy moderates the impact of ease of use on intention and consumption. Furthermore, perceived ease of use enhances perceptions of usefulness, aligning with TAM extensions in digital contexts. These findings underscore the role of social media in fostering civic participation, despite challenges, such as misinformation and echo chambers, particularly in a linguistically and culturally diverse region, such as Tamil Nadu. Theoretically, the study extends TAM by integrating trust and literacy into political communication. Practically, it provides insights for media outlets, educators, and policymakers to promote responsible consumption and counteract disinformation. Limitations include the cross-sectional design and focus on urban youth in Coimbatore, suggesting opportunities for longitudinal and comparative research. Overall, this research contributes to understanding youth digital behaviors in democratic processes and emphasizes the necessity for targeted interventions to promote informed political discourse.

<sc></sc> This study examines how hybrid regimes maintain power by managing political discourse, using Uganda’s 2021 election as a case study. We analyse communication patterns across three distinct settings that vary in institutional control: Parliament (high control), television shows (medium control), and social media platform X (low control). Our dataset comprises 4945 social media posts, 104 parliamentary transcripts, and 157 television episodes collected from May 2020 to September 2021. We focus on four key political topics: Covid-19, the economy, political violence, and elections. Using computational textual analysis, we measure discursive polarisation between government and opposition actors through two metrics: semantic divergence (linguistic distance between actors) and emotional tone. Our findings show a clear institutional gradient in political polarisation. Polarisation is highest on X, where institutional control is minimal, and lowest in Parliament, where control is strongest. This pattern persists across all four topics and shows temporal variations linked to the election cycle. These results suggest that hybrid regimes do not uniformly suppress dissent. Instead, they calibrate their control strategies across different communicative platforms, channelling rather than eliminating opposition discourse. This finding refines theories of informational autocracy by showing how regimes strategically manage political communication across institutionally varied settings.

This study aims to examine teacher exemplary behavior in character learning and its contribution to the formation of teachers who are longed for by students. The study employed a qualitative approach with a case study design at MI Muhammadiyah Tahuna. Data were collected through observation, in-depth interviews, and documentation involving teachers and students as the main participants. The data were analyzed through data condensation, data display, and conclusion drawing, while data validity was ensured through source and technique triangulation. The findings show that teacher exemplary behavior was reflected in discipline, honesty, responsibility, polite communication, empathy, fairness, emotional control, and consistency between words and actions. These behaviors functioned as moral models that students observed, imitated, and internalized in daily school life. Teacher exemplary behavior also influenced students’ motivation and character by encouraging punctuality, confidence, respect, responsibility, and positive classroom participation. In addition, warm communication, active listening, and emotional support strengthened teacher–student relationships and created emotional closeness. This emotional bond contributed to the formation of the longed-for teacher, namely a teacher who is respected, remembered, and missed because their presence provides comfort, guidance, motivation, and moral inspiration. The study concludes that teacher exemplary behavior is a fundamental foundation of character learning and should be strengthened through reflective teaching practices, empathetic communication, and a supportive school culture.

First-time voters play a crucial role in Indonesia’s 2024 Election, particularly within pesantren (Islamic boarding schools), which serve as influential environments in shaping youth perspectives. This study examines how santri (students in Islamic boarding schools) construct political meaning, interpret democracy, and make voting decisions within a religious educational context. Using a qualitative approach, the study involved 15 participants from three pesantren in East Java. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and analyzed thematically to identify patterns in how santri understand political life. The findings reveal that santri understand politics not as a contest for power, but as a moral responsibility and form of social worship, while democracy is interpreted through the Islamic principle of musyawarah (deliberation). The pesantren environment shapes political understanding through everyday moral and communicative practices rather than explicit political instruction, while social media serves as a key source of political information that is filtered through religious values, producing a reflective and ethically grounded mode of engagement. These findings demonstrate how pesantren function as communicative spaces of political socialization, where religious values, institutional interactions, and mediated information intersect to shape critical, ethical, and socially responsible first-time voters.

Prof. Dr. Stefan Serezliev “Lyuben Groys” Theater College / “St. Cyril and St. Methodius” University of Veliko Tarnovo E-mail: serezliev@uni-vt.bg Issue 67 of the “Rhetoric and Communication” journal continues the tradition of publishing articles related to rhetoric and its manifestations in various spheres, as well as research findings on communication in business, education, and politics at the national and international levels. The first thematic section, “Rhetoric and Communication in Society, the Media, and Business”, covers a wide spectrum of manifestations of rhetoric and communication – from politics and business to the visual aspects of the internet in virtual space. The first article in this section is by Nodhar Hammami Ben Fradj, who analyzes female orators, presenting findings from a relatively new but developing field of research in rhetoric. Lyudmila Spasova outlines basic rhetori¬cal terms and presents findings from an analysis of influencers on TikTok and Instagram through the lens of rhetoric and virtual communication. Rhetoric and state-political discourse are examined in the context of the accession of the Western Balkan countries to the European Union by Milen Zhelev. Maria-An¬toaneta Vangelova analyzes internet memes from an interesting perspective regarding the image of Bulgarians. Daniel Vassilev provides an analysis of the target audience in relation to internal strategic communication within business organizations. The second section focuses on pedagogical and academic communication. Rumina Valkova explores gamification as a pedagogical approach in teaching economics and entrepreneurship at secondary school. Svetoslav Dobrev presents methodological approaches in teaching stage speech to students for a smooth transition from physical to verbal cues in puppet theater performances. Jeton Lakna determines, based on an analysis of empirical research, how education in schools and universities could be improved through the use of modern tech¬nologies and the creation of interactive content. Velina Pesheva analyzes the role of university libraries and the development of literacy in the use of artificial intelligence in the academic sphere, taking into account open science and the changes resulting from the introduction of new technologies. Stefan Serezliev is an associate professor of branding and integrated marketing communications at the Department of Journalism and Public Relations at “St. Cyril and St. Methodius” University of Veliko Tarnovo. He is a professor at the Lyuben Groys Theater College and has served as its Rector since 2019. He is a university lecturer and researcher in visual communications, advertising, and branding. Author of monographs and textbooks, including “Integrated Marketing Communications, Brand, and Graphic Design: Between Definitions and Perspectives” (2014), “The Actor’s Personal Brand: Between Definitions and Perspectives” (2024). Rhetoric and Communications

The main objective of this study is to assess the effects of chatbot persona and communication style on trust and intention to use for scheduling breast cancer screening (BCS). We conducted a mixed-methods analysis of a randomized factorial experiment to evaluate different chatbot designs for a BCS intervention. The study protocol is registered on ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT05472064). We tested different conditions in a 2 × 2 experimental design using a Black woman persona presented either as a primary care doctor or a breast cancer survivor and a communication style that was either direct or polite, compared with a control condition. Among the experimental conditions, the doctor-polite condition was the most preferred in terms of both trust and intention to use, compared with the control. Qualitative feedback indicated that the doctor persona and polite communication style were perceived as professional and friendly, respectively. While some participants appreciated representation in the use of a Black woman persona and found it relatable, others perceived it as stereotyping, patronizing, or targeting. Overall, both quantitative and qualitative findings indicate that a culturally tailored doctor persona with polite messaging may enhance trust and increase intention to use the chatbot for scheduling BCS through professional interactions that are perceived as warm and friendly. The development of culturally tailored personas should be done with caution to prevent the perpetuation of stereotypes in chatbot persona development.

Political communications research has found that elites enjoy wide latitude to shape mass opinion but also identified important constraints on opinion leadership in competitive democracies. To win over the public, political leaders must generally mobilize party loyalties, secure interest group endorsements, and make persuasive arguments to support their views. Influential research (Broockman &amp; Butler, 2017) calls these constraints into question by raising the possibility that elected officials can sway their constituents’ opinions about policy merely by declaring their own stances, without providing substantive justifications or group cues. Such “position adoption,” in which ordinary citizens simply defer to politicians’ authority, would mean that the public is more pliant than previous research suggests. To examine this possibility, we report on four experimental studies that assess the effect of unelaborated “position-taking cues” from elected representatives on their constituents’ policy opinions. We find no evidence that the bare articulation of a representative’s position changes constituents’ opinions, whereas many of the group cues and substantive arguments included in these experiments have sizable influences on opinions measured in our studies. These results cast doubt on the most pessimistic interpretation of elite opinion leadership.

This special issue examines the phenomenon of the tradwife—a “retro feminine” figure who performs extreme domesticity on social media. The rise of the tradwife is familiar, yet also reflective of the current technopolitical moment. To introduce this special issue of Psychology of Women Quarterly, we first explore a set of cultural forces that we believe have paved the way for the tradwife's recent ascendence. We contend that tradwives used social media to sell a message perfectly-tailored to the moment: They championed old-school gender roles by tapping into women's dissatisfaction with feminist progress; they showed off laborious domestic pursuits during coronavirus disease 2019, when people's attention narrowed to the home; and they evoked nostalgia in ways that echoed far-right political communications. Next, we summarize seven articles published in this special issue. The first three articles use feminist theories and content-coding strategies to describe the visual and ideological landscape of the tradwife. The next two articles identify how sexist and patriarchal ideologies characterize men's roles in the tradwife phenomenon. The last two articles contend with women's experiences living and leaving the tradlife. Finally, we name several open questions about the tradwife phenomenon that feminist psychological theory and methods are well-equipped to answer.

ABSTRACT Australia remains the only major constitutional democracy without an enshrined right to freedom of the press. This essay explores why the Australian Constitution was drafted without any constitutional right to freedom of the press. It examines debates from the 1890s Constitutional Conventions, alongside the history of British democratic traditions that shaped the framers’ perspectives. It argues that a reliance on British legal and constitutional traditions led to the absence of any charter of rights, including protections of the press and speech. While Australian journalists enjoy an “implied freedom of political communication,” the Fourth Estate operates in an uncertain environment with no constitutional shield against government interference or other constraints on reporting essential for a healthy democracy.

This paper explores the connection between the social media use of young people and political organization and the development of political opinion in Pakistan by referring to the theoretical framework of the Parasocial Interaction Theory. Although past studies have to a great extent focused on exposure and involvement in digital political communication, little has been done to look at interaction as a relational process that affects political attitudes especially in the developing democracies. The research sample is a survey of 400 university students in urban and semi-urban areas, analyzed using the descriptive analysis, the linear regression, and the independent samples t-tests to study the direct impact of interaction as well as possible gender difference. The findings show that there is a highly significant positive correlation between political leader interaction and political opinion formation that is, the interaction has significant proportions of explaining the attitudinal outcomes. There were no significant gender differences and this indicates that digital political influence through relational mechanics is similar between male and female young people. By the parasocial interpretation, the results indicate that the repeated interactive engagement with political actors leads to familiarity, trust, and interpretive congruence, thus determining the political perceptions. Placing the process of interaction in the center of the interaction with politics, this research paper will help in advancing the field of the digital nature of political communication and applying the parasocial interaction theory to the youth politics in the Global South.