Political Communication Research Research Articles

Overcoming Far-Right Respectability: The Case for Systemic Approaches to Studying White Supremacy

ABSTRACT This contribution to the Forum collection traces the rhetorical strategies taken up by far-right actors to cast white supremacist ideas as “respectable” in the post-civil rights era, including the adoption of “colorblind” and “reverse racism” frameworks. Today’s reactionary figureheads have inherited these frameworks, while adapting them to the norms and affordances of the digital attention economy. Popular indicators of conservative respectability today include the adoption of “mitigating rhetorical strategies,” appeals to free speech, and performances of intellectual and journalistic rigor. The piece ultimately argues that these tactics of obfuscation and abstraction should not deter political communication researchers from identifying white supremacist ideology as such, even when it manifests in coded and “respectable” ways. Adopting a systemic rather than individualistic understanding of white supremacy can help us to undertake the critical analyses required in this moment.

Political Communication Research is Unprepared for the Far Right

ABSTRACT In this introductory piece to a special issue of the Forum, we explore the inadequacies of the field of political communication in addressing the rising threats posed by illiberalism and the far right. We argue that the discipline’s frameworks, developed within the context of Western liberal democracies, are ill-equipped to tackle the complexities and self-reflexive strategies of contemporary far-right movements and actor types. These formations exploit liberal norms and practices to ultimately undermine and dismantle democratic values. We call for more “democratic clarity,” urging political communication scholars to adopt a clear stance in defense of democratic principles and to develop more robust conceptual tools to accurately classify and understand far-right actors. We introduce the other discussion pieces featured in this special section and ultimately point to actionable items meant to move the field forward.

Look at this! Radical right-wing populist information sharing practices on Twitter in Portugal, Spain, and Brazil

Politicians communicate on social media not only by direct utterances, but also by where they choose to direct followers’ attention using strategic interaction, audiovisual content and outlinks, i.e. their information sharing practices. Political communication research has focused on the former, but the latter is a relevant way to foster advantageous informational environments and interact with media systems. This is especially important for radical right-wing populists, due to their reliance on social media and adjacency to disinformation. Portugal, Spain, and Brazil provide important research cases due to media system characteristics and the different positions within the political system of the relevant leaders, which generates different opportunity structures. This article approaches relevant radical right-wing populist leaders’ information sharing practices by analysing the non-textual content of tweets ( n = 6087), emphasizing how they reflect relations with local media systems.

Analisis Isi Konten Instagram @Prabowo dalam Membangun Citra pada Pemilihan Presiden 2024

This research aims to examine how the Instagram account @prabowo developed a strong character during the presidential era using character theory. A qualitative approach involving content analysis was used to evaluate the textual and visual elements in the analyzed Instagram posts. The findings of this study indicate that the main theme of the content is "strong leadership", which is conveyed through graphic and textual components. Textual elements, such as captions, highlight Prabowo's dedication to important issues such as national development and preventing corruption. The depiction of leadership integrity is achieved through the use of firm words and expressions. Analysis of visual elements shows that the use of beige and dark brown helps convey stability and trust. Prabowo is depicted as a patriotic leader who is close to the people, shown through backgrounds that display interactions with society and national symbols. Her confident and assertive demeanor, as well as her professional yet approachable demeanor, reduces feelings of peer pressure. Effective communication strategies involve emphasizing individuality, engagement with the community, incorporation of national symbols, and the use of striking imagery. This approach succeeds in building a strong and trustworthy image. This study highlights the important role of social media in political campaigns and the need for consistent textual and visual elements to convey key messages effectively. These findings are useful for social media practice, political campaign strategy, and political communication research.

Discourse of The Presidential Debate of The Republic of Indonesia in The 2024 Elections (Analysis of Presidential Candidates' Discourse in The First, Third, and Fifth Debates)

This study analyzes presidential candidate debates using Halliday's discourse analysis approach, focusing on three main aspects: field of discourse, actor of discourse, and mode of discourse. The primary aim of this research is to explore how the discourse presented by candidates in the first, third, and fifth debates reflects the visions and missions they promote. Through qualitative analysis, this research finds that each debate has unique characteristics in message delivery. In the first debate, candidates emphasize the introduction of their visions and missions, while in the third debate, there is a more intense dynamic of interaction focusing on argumentation. The fifth debate showcases a more emotional and persuasive mode of discourse, highlighting the connection between the messages and the aspirations of the audience. The findings indicate that the discourse conveyed by presidential candidates is consistently aligned with the visions and missions they advocate, suggesting that the communication strategies employed play a crucial role in shaping their image and garnering support. This study aims to provide new insights into political communication research and serves as a reference for future studies in the context of political debates in Indonesia.

Measuring Enlarged Mentality: Development and Validation of the Enlarged Mentality Scale

Abstract Hannah Arendt’s concept of enlarged mentality (also referred to as representative thinking) has received much attention from theorists and philosophers, but it has not been a central concept in the empirical political communication literature. This article explicates the concept of enlarged mentality and argues for its relevance to political communication theory and research. Specifically, we developed (Study 1) and validated (Study 2, Study 3) a 10-item survey instrument to measure orientation towards enlarged thinking among individuals. The Enlarged Mentality Scale was validated in two national samples (Singapore, United Kingdom) and was found to show predictive validity toward deliberative and political engagement variables. We offer suggestions on how the measure of enlarged mentality could be useful for different areas of political communication research.

A Matter of Misunderstanding? Explaining (Mis)Perceptions of Electoral Integrity across 25 Different Nations.

In this paper, we investigate how trust in traditional and social media correlate with misperceptions of electoral integrity. Relying on insights from political communication research on exposure to misinformation and selective exposure mechanisms, as well as insights on the different roles of traditional and social media in different regime types, we argue that misperceptions of election integrity are likely driven in large part by the interplay between the trust people have in different media sources and the context (i.e., the level of press freedom) in which the elections take place. Using data from a survey conducted in 25 countries across the world, we find that trust in information from traditional media decreases misperceptions, while trust in information from social media increases misperceptions. However, both these effects are smaller when press freedom is restricted. In countries with low levels of press freedom, trust in social media is even associated with lower levels of misperceptions.

(Mis)measurement of Political Content Exposure within the Smartphone Ecosystem

The affordances of the smartphone are shifting individuals toward ever smaller and more fragmented units of political experience. In this piece, we make use of a novel approach to granular assessment of political exposure on smartphones, revealing an incredible level of complexity in modern political content diets, somewhat at odds with simplifying assumptions commonly made by political communication research. Based on five million screen-recording frames taken from 119 smartphones over two weeks, we find clear challenges to three common assumptions in the literature, with clear impacts on new theories about fragmented political media use: Assumption (1) unique encounters with political content can be aggregated by tabulation as though they are equivalent experiences; (2) durations of exposure to political content can be aggregated (e.g., at a monthly or daily level) without regard for how those time units are clustered at smaller timescales; and (3) singular political formats or sources (particularly the news formats and sources) are sufficient proxies for measuring and manipulating overall political content exposure. Regarding the first and second assumptions, our findings suggest that the majority of political content exposure occurs in bursts of only a few potentially-forgettable seconds, and that the remainder follow a power-law curve that reemerges across apps and individuals, with extreme variability within and across individuals. Regarding the third assumption, we find the vast majority of political content is encountered from formats and sources other than news and social media. We articulate how these results fit within and augment literature focused on political content exposure.

Strategi Komunikasi Caleg Petahana DPRD Kota Padang

This research aims to understand the communication strategies of incumbent candidates of the Regional House of Representatives in Padang City who were successfully re-elected in the 2024 elections. A qualitative method was used, with three candidate informants and five constituents. The data was analyzed using James E. Grunig's dialogue theory. The main findings reveal three strategies: adjustment of communication language, strengthening emotional relationships, and maintenance of good relations and empathy. This research has important implications for political communication practitioners and researchers. It highlights the significance of two-way communication and public engagement in building relationships between politicians and constituents. It also emphasizes the importance of building emotional relationships and empathy, as they contribute to increased constituent trust and support. Additionally, the research suggests adjusting communication strategies according to constituent characteristics.

Comparative Digital Political Communication: Comparisons Across Countries, Platforms, and Time

Comparative communication research needs to catch up to other disciplines. In this special issue and the associated International Communication Association preconference, we focus on comparative work related to digital political communication. This introduction argues that comparative digital political communication needs to consider comparisons across various dimensions, including countries, platforms, and time, whereas existing comparative communication research focuses on country or territorial comparison. We highlight the six submissions’ approaches to comparative work. Each submission provides at least one of these three dimensions of contrast. We conclude with a discussion of enduring gaps in this field of research, such as the lack of studies using time as a dimension of comparison. Time is crucial for understanding ever-changing digital media platforms. We also conclude by discussing some ongoing challenges in political communication research.

Hate-sharing: A case study of its prevalence and impact on Gab

This article brings frameworks from literary and cultural studies and methods from network science to bear on a central topic in political communication research: polarization. Recent studies have called into question the argument that digital “echo chambers” exacerbate polarization by preventing members from encountering a diversity of information and opinions. Using Gab, a far-right social media platform, as a case study, we offer further evidence that even members of highly polarized publics do engage in “cross-cutting.” However, we develop a distinct concept of hate-sharing, or sharing content for the purpose of disagreeing with or denigrating it. We show that hate-sharing is common on Gab. Moreover, it is associated with stronger community structure than other kinds of sharing and appears to confer substantially greater influence on those who engage in it. We interpret these findings as evidence that social networks incentivize the production of networked outrage—where “hating on” linked content merges with hate.

You change the way you talk: Examining the network, toxicity and discourse of cross-platform users on Twitter and Parler during the 2020 US Presidential Election

This study examines code-switching behaviours of cross-platform social media users specifically between Twitter and Parler during the 2020 US Presidential Election. Utilising social identity theory as a framework, we examine messages related to voter fraud by users who migrated from Twitter to Parler following Twitter bans. Our analysis covers 38,798 accounts active on both platforms, analysing 1.5 million tweets and more than 100,000 parleys. The key findings of the study are as follows: First, we discovered differing levels of network homophily between high degree centrality and low-degree centrality cross-platform users, illustrating how individuals with varying degrees of influence engage differently across platforms. Second, we observed higher toxicity levels in heterogeneous networks, which include both in-group and out-group members, compared with homogeneous networks that are primarily composed of in-group members. This suggests the level of toxicity in online spaces correlates with the level of group diversity. Third, we found that cross-platform users created distinctive discourse community with in-group and out-group members, indicating that content and discussions within these networks are influenced by the social identity dynamics of the users. Our study contributes to the current research in political communication and information science by proposing comparative user analyses across multiple social media platforms. Focusing on a critical period of platform transition during a contentious political event, our study offers insights into the dynamics of online communities and the shifting nature of political language used by social media users.

Institutional and political communication on TikTok: Systematic review of scientific production in Web of Science and Scopus

After the Covid-19 pandemic, political parties and international public institutions consolidated the use of TikTok as a communication tool in order to reach a young audience, which requires dynamic formats and more flexible languages. This study aims to reflect on the characteristics of institutional and political communication research in TikTok, the suitability of its methodologies, conclusions and limitations, and its future prospects. To this end, a systematic review of the scientific literature (SLR) for the period 2018-2023 is carried out, following the standards of the PRISMA Statement (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses). After applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria to 1.186 scientific documents, 21 articles published in the Scopus and Web of Science databases were analysed. The findings indicate that Spain concentrates the highest number of publications, that the phenomenon was not studied until 2021 and that 2022 was the year of highest production. The conclusions suggest that the study of TikTok is in an incipient phase and that content analysis is the predominant methodology, although its samples are small. They also suggest that there is little bidirectionality in communication strategies, that interaction is not related to adaptation to the multimodal language of the platform and that the focus should be on studying the community rather than the messages disseminated from official profiles.

Replicating and Extending Soroka, Fournier, and Nir: Negative News Increases Arousal and Negative Affect

The negativity bias hypothesis in political communication contends that people are more aroused by negative vs. positive news. Soroka et al. (2019) provide evidence for this negativity bias in a study in 17 countries across six continents. We find suggestive evidence for Soroka et al.’s (2019) central finding that negativity causes an increase in skin conductance levels in a conceptually close, well-powered, and preregistered replication. We extend Soroka et al. (2019) in three ways. First, we theorise, test, and confirm that negative (vs. positive) news causes an increase in activity of the corrugator major muscle above the eyebrow (using facial electromyography activity) and is associated with a negative affect. Second, we find people self-reporting negative news causes negative affect but that positive (instead of negative) news increases self-reported arousal. Third, we test Soroka et al.’s (2019) argument in another context, the Netherlands. Our article suggests that negative news is, especially, causing negative affect. Doing so, we contribute to the negativity bias argument in political communication research and, at the same time, show the importance of replication in empirical communication research.

Contemporary quantitative and qualitative public relations research methods in Arab scholarly studies: A meta-research

Communication scholars in the Arab countries have started to address new fields of scholarly literature in the public relations discipline over the last decade. The crucial change induced by the Arab Spring in many Arab countries has propelled public relations scholars to investigate the type of changes that affect scholarly research methods in the genre of communication at large, and public relations in particular. In the current study, the meta-analysis method was utilised to examine a total of 61 scholarly work (2012 to 2022), from seven Arab countries (Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Jordan and Sudan). The sample included 23 master’s theses and 38 PhD dissertations. The criteria for evaluation mainly addressed methods, interdisciplinary approaches, topics and contextual variables. The results reveal that first, the majority of the sample studies depended on quantitative methods. Second, interdisciplinary approaches were evident and included fields of marketing, political communication and social media research. Third, the topics studied in the seven Arab countries varied, as explained in detail in the paper. Fourth, the contextual variables included socio-political and cultural variables. Lastly, future research is needed to investigate the new impacts of social media on research methods in the field of public relations.

Merging AI Incidents Research with Political Misinformation Research: Introducing the Political Deepfakes Incidents Database

This article presents the Political Deepfakes Incidents Database (PDID), a collection of politically-salient deepfakes, encompassing synthetically-created videos, images, and less-sophisticated `cheapfakes.' The project is driven by the rise of generative AI in politics, ongoing policy efforts to address harms, and the need to connect AI incidents and political communication research. The database contains political deepfake content, metadata, and researcher-coded descriptors drawn from political science, public policy, communication, and misinformation studies. It aims to help reveal the prevalence, trends, and impact of political deepfakes, such as those featuring major political figures or events. The PDID can benefit policymakers, researchers, journalists, fact-checkers, and the public by providing insights into deepfake usage, aiding in regulation, enabling in-depth analyses, supporting fact-checking and trust-building efforts, and raising awareness of political deepfakes. It is suitable for research and application on media effects, political discourse, AI ethics, technology governance, media literacy, and countermeasures.

Scholarly Solidarity: Building an Inclusive Field for Junior and Minority Researchers

ABSTRACT The goal of this reflective essay is to highlight challenges that junior and minority political communication researchers face and to advocate for scholarly solidarity practices, defined as actions that maintain social ties between researchers. I discuss four ways in which we can practice scholarly solidarity: solidarity in support, solidarity in responsible open science, solidarity by acknowledgment, and solidarity in the professional pipeline.

Women and digital political communication in non-Western societies

ABSTRACT This special issue brings together contributions and theoretical insights that probe ways through which gender interacts with context to shape non-Western-based political communication trends. It seeks to address the need to diversify theory and research in political communication. Our key contribution is to provide empirically-guided, contextually-shaped and methodologically-rich research on digital political communication strategies that facilitate women's political participation in geographical areas underrepresented in the scholarship. We do this in five ways. First, feminist approaches to digital political communication have rarely been studied this way, focusing exclusively on previously unaddressed developments in non-Western settings while also theorizing their contributions to communication scholarship through a special issue format in a credible journal that retains a wider audience. Second, it is of scholarly interest to know whether women politicians in richer and poor countries grapple with the same issues when it comes to political communication. Third, we provide novel ways to expand scholarship on women's digital political participation through incorporation of indigenous knowledge and practices. Fourth, the diversity of fresh voices coupled with pioneering findings assembled in this special issue is encouraging in a field dominated by a few. Finally, the number of women vying for political office in the Global South is increasing. Therefore, studying how they are faring on the political frontline has a significant bearing on how current and future studies within the remit of understudied non-Western digital political communication can and should be framed, paving way for new and better understandings on the region and its multifaceted political perturbations.

Alternative Media and Nonlinear Mediated Debate: The Case of Variety Streamers

Past research has noted that alternative media often facilitate debate between activists and advocates for political policies. However, such research does not typically address the processes for those debates. In recent years, political influencers have increasingly made debates important content in the alternative media they produce through streaming services. In 2021, I observed a debate between three influencers that took place through YouTube and Twitch. In this research project, I engaged in a qualitative content analysis of key texts, using concepts concerning debate from past political communication research. Specifically, I examined the pre-debate, debate and post-debate stages in order to identify different attacks, acclaims or defences utilised by the influencers. The findings, viewed through the lens of mediated construction of reality described by Couldry and Hepp, demonstrate that those linear stages established in past campaign research do not fully apply to the context of alternative media found on streaming services. Instead, this debate was a nonlinear process in which the “pre-debate” stage was actually the debate.

Visual political communication research: A literature review from 2012 to 2022

More than ten years ago, Schill’s (2012) review article was published on the visual aspects of political communication aiming to increase research in this field. It seems that scholars have reacted to this call in the last decade. The present article argues that in the last ten years, visual political communication (VPC) has been affected by technological advances, and with the proliferation of the internet and social media, political communication has become even more visual. As Schill’s (2012) article predated this period, a new review seems to be timely. To that end, a combination of a systematic and narrative review is provided to highlight the results and developments in this area. Findings suggest that the rise of social media has brought changes to VPC, which have been reflected in the literature by focusing on key concepts in contemporary political communication: personalization, populism, gender-related issues, and the effects of VPC on citizens, separately on social media and in television.