“…Empirical work on the equalizing or normalizing effects of social media draws no unequivocal picture, with some studies finding support for a more level playing field between minor and major political actors (e.g., Bene, 2021;Samuel-Azran et al, 2015) and others pointing towards a normalizing effect (e.g., Strandberg, 2013;Van Aelst et al, 2017). Scholars argue that the ambiguity in the findings stems from methodological heterogeneity (Vanden Eynde & Maddens, 2022), conceptual weaknesses, and the dominance of single-case study designs (Bene, 2021;Gibson, 2020). Most studies on the equalization-normalization debate focus on electoral competitions (e.g., Larsson & Moe, 2014;Samuel-Azran et al, 2015) or non-electoral periods (e.g., Sobaci, 2018) and test their premises over relatively short periods, often covering only one single campaign.…”