(Social) media and political polarization Alena Kluknavská 1 #MUNI Adobe Systems 2 Overview of the lecture ̶What is political polarization ̶The role of (social) media in polarization ̶Broader context which affects polarization ̶The current state of research on the media and political polarization Adobe Systems 3 Polarization Electromagnetic Waves Polarization | PhysicsOpenLab Adobe Systems 4 Political polarization: How would you define it? Adobe Systems 5 U.S. is polarizing faster than other democracies, study finds | Brown University Adobe Systems 6 Political polarization: two distinct forms Adobe Systems 7 Ideological polarization ̶Divergence perspective: ̶the divergence of political opinions, beliefs, attitudes, and stances of political adversaries ̶division into two sharply contrasting groups or sets of opinions or beliefs ̶more politically divided and societal groups ideologically opposed to each other ̶these positions become more extreme and entrenched over time ̶Alignment perspective: ̶the degree to which citizens’ positions on a given issue are defined by their partisan or ideological identity ̶views have become increasingly connected to citizens’ political identity ̶ideological constistency: the degree to which people consistently align themselves with one side or another ̶often leading to a sharp divide along ideological or partisan lines ̶people tend to align themselves with one of two opposing positions, such as conservative vs. liberal ̶ Adobe Systems 8 Affective polarization ̶Based on work considering the role of identity in politics and how identity felt towards some groups (e.g., political parties) can worsen animosity towards other groups ̶It relates to interparty hostility ̶Assesses the extent to which people like (or feel warmth towards) their political allies and dislike (or feel lack of warmth towards) their political opponents ̶How warm or cold they feel toward each party ̶ ̶ Adobe Systems 9 Implications of political polarization ̶Political gridlock (in bipartisan political systems especially) ̶Reduced cooperation of political parties ̶Negative campaigning ̶Media fragmentation ̶Social and societal divisions ̶Erosion of trust ̶Radicalization ̶Ineffective policy solutions Adobe Systems 10 How can we measure political polarization empirically? Adobe Systems 11 Ideological polarization ̶Usually surveys •Liberal-conservative scale •The extent to which they support/agree or do not support/agree (with) a specific political topic (e.g., climate change) Adobe Systems 12 Affective polarization ̶Warmth and favorability ratings, sentiments ̶Examples in empirical studies: ̶Iyengar et al. (2012): “feeling thermometer” – warmth/favorability ratings of political allies vs. political opponents (how warm or cold they feel toward each party) ̶One’s own positive/negative emotional valence before and after seeing a video of a politician ̶Content: the positive and negative sentiment used in Tweets about political allies and opponents ̶Social distance: Respondents were asked whether they would be happy or unhappy if their son or daughter married a member of the other party; questions about accepting members of the opposite group as close personal friends, neighbors on the same street, coworkers in the same occupation, citizens in their country, visitors in their country, or whether they would exclude them from their country Adobe Systems 13 The role of (social) media ̶Accelerated and amplified changes in media and political communication in recent years ̶Media becoming more fragmented and partisan = people becoming more polarized (ideologically and affectively) ̶Social media can shape perception of political environment ̶Good or bad for democracy? ̶Yet, mixed results: no effect on political polarization; and in certain circumstances, depolarizing effects ̶Prior (2013): suggests media may not significantly affect polarization of the person – but no distinction between type of polarization + focus solely on the U.S., and importantly – so much has changed since 2013 Adobe Systems 14 What do you think has changed in the last 10 years? Political, economic, media environments… Adobe Systems 15 What has changed, you ask? Pew Research Center. (2017). The partisan divide on political values grows even wider. Retrieved March 9 2021, from https://www.people-press.org/2017/10/05/the-partisan-divide-on-political-values-grows-even-wid er/. Pew Research Center. (2019). Social Media Fact Sheet. Retrieved from https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/social-media/ Adobe Systems 16 What has changed, you ask? Chart, line chart Description automatically generated Pew Research Center. (2017). The partisan divide on political values grows even wider. Retrieved March 9 2021, from https://www.people-press.org/2017/10/05/the-partisan-divide-on-political-values-grows-even-wid er/. Pew Research Center. (2019). Social Media Fact Sheet. Retrieved from https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/social-media/ Adobe Systems 17 What has changed, you ask? Pew Research Center. (2017). The partisan divide on political values grows even wider. Retrieved from https://www.people-press.org/2017/10/05/the-partisan-divide-on-political-values-grows-even-wid er/. Pew Research Center. (2019). Social Media Fact Sheet. Retrieved from https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/social-media/ Adobe Systems 18 Chart, line chart Description automatically generated Pew Research Center. (2021). Social Media Use in 2021. Retrieved from https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2021/04/07/social-media-use-in-2021/ Adobe Systems 19 Premium Vector | World financial crisis, economic fall illustration. going down graph of finance, business bancrupcy. concept for finance failure, economy financed stock. investments risk, decline, depression. EU calls a new refugee crisis summit for next Wednesday Aktuality - Nová mimořádná opatření MZČR ke covid-19 - Oficiální stránky města Hulín Adobe Systems 20 ̶ Why do people spread disinformation on social media? SHRM Journal Special Issue: Disinformation in the OSCE Context Adobe Systems 21 Why Trump's Election Loss Is Historic: Populist Authoritarians Are Rarely Voted Out Pourquoi Marine Le Pen n'a pas pris part au vote de l'Assemblée sur l' Nigel Farage: Why you should vote for Brexit this Thursday | The Independent | The Independent Adobe Systems 22 The current state of research on media and political polarization Adobe Systems 23 The development of the field ‘media and polarization’ over time Figure Adobe Systems 24 The country of samples: ‘media and polarization’ Figure Adobe Systems 25 Areas of research: What do we know about the (social) media and polarization? (Kubin & von Sikorski, 2021) Adobe Systems 26 Areas of research ̶Media content: polarization of media content ̶Media exposure: link between exposure to media and polarization of audiences ̶Media effects: link between media (use, content, features) and polarization ̶ Adobe Systems 27 Media exposure: How does exposure to certain media content link to political polarization? ̶Effect of exposure to the media source on audiences ̶An increased use of traditional media can reduce ideological polarization ̶Fake news and disinformation – driving ideological polarization ̶Pre-selective exposure: decisions made outside of the viewers discretion (e.g., algorithms) ̶Selective exposure: decisions made by the viewer, selection on pre-existing beliefs ̶ The effects of selectively consuming certain media content on polarization ̶Tends to increase both ideological and affective polarization ̶Partisan media especially polarizing ̶Like-minded media makes people more ideologically and affectively polarized ̶Less clear whether exposure to counter-attitudinal media increases polarization Adobe Systems 28 Media content: Has media coverage been increasingly polarized? ̶Exploring the content of media sources (different media) ̶Conducting content analyses of social media posts and news content ̶Focus: the extent to which media content is politically polarized ̶Social media (often Twitter) + traditional media ̶Evidence of increasingly polarized content ̶Empirical study: Tweets by U.S. politicians - Republican politicians used more polarizing language and rhetoric than Democratic counterparts Adobe Systems 29 Media effects: How do (can certain types of) media affect political polarization? ̶Effects of social media: ̶Can further ideologically polarize people - negative Tweets about candidates, uncivil FB comments, counter-attitudinal Twitter posts – make people more ideologically polarized ̶Can also affectively polarize people: social media comments that derogate political adversaries increase affective polarization ̶Effects of traditional media: ̶Ideological talk shows tend to increase ideological polarization ̶Fact-checkers reduce ideological polarization ̶Reading a news article about an in-party scandal, being exposed to likeminded news media, incivility on news media from out-party sources (e.g., Fox News for Democrats) – associated with increased affective polarization Adobe Systems 30 Thank you for participating! Adobe Systems 31 Literature 1.Emily Kubin & Christian von Sikorski (2021) The role of (social) media in political polarization: a systematic review, Annals of the International Communication Association, 45:3, 188-206, DOI: 10.1080/23808985.2021.1976070 2.Pew Research Center. (2017). The partisan divide on political values grows even wider. Retrieved from https://www.people-press.org/2017/10/05/the-partisan-divide-on-political-values-grows-even-wid er/. 3.Pew Research Center. (2019). Social Media Fact Sheet. Retrieved from https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/social-media/ 4.Pew Research Center. (2021). Social Media Use in 2021. Retrieved from https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2021/04/07/social-media-use-in-2021/