Do We Know Politicians’ True Selves From the Media? Exploring the Relationship Between Political Media Exposure and Perceived Political Authenticity

Abstract

Authenticity is an increasingly important factor in citizens’ evaluations of political candidates and their voting decisions. As citizens value political authenticity, politicians attempt to appear true to themselves in the public eye. However, little research has examined how these perceptions of politicians as more or less authentic are constructed. This study examines how citizens form perceptions of politicians’ authenticity and particularly sheds light on the relationship between political media exposure and perceived political authenticity. Drawing on the literature on performed authenticity in social media, personalized media coverage, and information processing, we examine the effects of exposure to political information in different media on perceptions of political authenticity and its subdimensions. Results from an online quota survey in Germany ( N = 1,210) show that differences in perceived political authenticity are not simply determined by citizens’ political attitudes but can also be explained by their frequency of exposure to political information in different media types. When citizens use private TV news, political accounts on social media, and follow candidate profiles, they perceive politicians as more authentic. Our analyses also suggest that some effects of media exposure on perceived political authenticity are conditioned by citizens’ party identification and their tendency to select ideologically congruent political information.

The vertical and horizontal dimensions in the social construction of leadership: A case study on the social media followers of the Croatian politicians Zoran Milanović and Miro Bulj

“…When authenticity becomes embedded in a social-construction-of-leadership approach, where we are interested in the articulation of political leadership, we can avert these problems and the critiques of psychological reductionism (Alvesson's and Einola, 2019: 393). We can find support in the work of other authors, who have moved away from these realist (ontological) perspectives and have emphasized the interpretative negotiations that take place, where followers make a “subjective assessment (…) in which they judge whether they believe politicians are true to themselves” (Luebke and Engelmann, 2022: 2), and display affective responses when leaders are deemed authentic (Bradley-Cole, 2021).…”

Perceiving politicians as true to themselves: Development and validation of the perceived political authenticity scale

“…As social media is considered “a venue where politicians reveal their true selves” ([ 59 ], pp. 1–2), research on the effects of exposure to politicians’ performed authenticity in social media on the three dimensions is of interest [ 30 ]. Moreover, the scale is useful for understanding the effects of perceived authenticity on citizens’ candidate evaluations and political actions.…”

“…Consequently, citizens perceive a specific politician to be more authentic when they identify with a candidate’s party. Perceived political authenticity was also shown to be associated with higher exposure to different political information, such as TV news and candidate profiles in social media [ 12 , 29 , 30 ].…”

The Use of TikTok for Political Campaigning in Canada: The Case of Jagmeet Singh

“…The public presentation of Singh as an “authentic politician” (Enli, 2015, p. 110) and his playful use of TikTok is situated within larger discussions of authenticity, celebrity, and influencers in political communication on social media (Barta & Andalibi, 2021; Luebke, 2021; Luebke & Engelmann, 2022). Authenticity is a challenging notion to define, and scholarship pertaining to political communication has approached the concept as an imaginary ideal mediating a politician’s “real” or “true” personality for strategic gain in electoral campaigns (Dumitrica, 2014; Gaden & Dumitrica, 2015).…”