Facebook and Political Information in Italy and the UK: An Antidote against Political Fragmentation and Polarisation?

Abstract

Due to the rise of digital technologies citizens can today counton innumerable and diverse sources of political information. Arguably such a proliferation of media choices in conjunction with a structural aspect of the internet, namely the presence of a pro-active and self-selecting audience, offers the conditions most conducive to selective exposure (Bimber & Davis 2003). The tendency for selectivity of the internet audience has raised serious concerns as it maylead to a more polarised and less informed electorate (Sunstein 2001, Polat 2005, Bennett & Iyengar 2008). However, despite many theoretical speculations, the relationship between the internet and the exposure to politically diverse information is still unclear. The present paper aims to contribute to this debate. Through a sequential explanatory mixed methods strategy, it examines the impact of Facebook on the consumption of political information in Italy and the United Kingdom and argues thatthis social networking website could reduce the risks of selective exposure and operate as an antidote against political fragmentation and polarization.

İnternete Pesimist Bir Bakış Açışı Olarak Makro ve Mikro Kapatılma

“…Bir sonraki başlıktaki seçici maruz kalma ve filtre balonlarının oluşturduğu kolektif nefret kültürü ise gruplara dâhil olma, diğerlerini etkileme, kendilerine zarar verebileceklerini düşündükleri kişilerden korunma ve bu amaçla örgütlenme, sıkı ilişkiler kurma ve öteki üzerinden kimliğin oluşumu gibi temel içgüdülere dayanmaktadır. (Casteltrione, 2014).…”

The Revolution of Facebook: Political Education on Social Media through Nonformal Andragogical Communities of Practice

“…Du Preez and Lombard (2014) contend that while memes are part of identity construction, they are also part of identity display as they reveal true impressions of the user's offline persona. Casteltrione (2014) has proposed that Facebook can decrease the risk of political fragmentation and polarization, and elsewhere that members pre-existing levels of political activity reflect their mobilization efforts on Facebook (Casteltrione, 2016). Kearney (2016) connects political engagement on Facebook with interpersonal goals theory concluding that "…political posts entail greater affective and interaction-related risks than following political pages or updating one's profile, while "liking" political posts afford users a low-cost/low-reward strategy for managing interactions" (p. 106).…”