Publication
Title
Social media and affective polarization : does Facebook news use fuel political in- and out-group affect in a multi-party context?
Author
Abstract
Western societies are increasingly facing a challenge of affective polarization; a trend where citizens develop a strong affective connection toward their own political side, while increasingly disliking and feeling animosity toward people with opposing political allegiances. One factor that is often seen as contributing to this growing trend are social media, particularly Facebook. However, so far, research that examines the relation between social media use and affective polarization is still scarce, and the studies that exist are inconclusive and often focus on two-party systems. Using data from a panel survey conducted around the 2019 elections in Flanders, this study sets out to investigate to what extent Facebook (news) use relates to affective polarization, specifically in the context of a multi-party system. We find evidence that Facebook news use is indeed associated with higher levels of affective polarization and that citizens who rely on Facebook for their news consumption become more affectively polarized over the span of an electoral campaign than those who relied on other media channels. Moreover, we demonstrate that this relationship exists because Facebook news relates both to increased positive feelings toward the in-group, and increased hostile feelings toward the out-group, although the latter to a lesser extent.
Language
English
Source (journal)
Acta politica : international journal of political science. - Meppel, 1965, currens
Publication
Basingstoke : Palgrave macmillan ltd , 2024
ISSN
0001-6810 [print]
1741-1416 [online]
DOI
10.1057/S41269-023-00324-4
Volume/pages
(2024) , p. 1-21
ISI
001139288000001
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (publisher's version - intranet only)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Publication type
Subject
Law 
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 01.02.2024
Last edited 08.02.2024
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