The Image of Germany in Social Media: Political and Social Aspects of Public Service Media in Poland

Abstract

The goal is this paper is to analyze the image of Germany and Germans in social media platforms of Polish Television (Telewizja Polska — TVP). Through a web content analysis the study aims at presenting main societal and political aspects in the daily functioning of public service media. The outcome is therefore presented in a broad social and historical context, including relations between Germany and Poland. The main factors shaping bilateral relations such as stereotypes, trans-border cooperation and the presence of the German minority in Poland are presented. The empirical part of the paper comprises content and discourse analysis of TVP’ s social media related to the image of Germans and Germany over a period of three months in 2018.

Role of Social Media Manipulation in Promoting Democratic Decay: The Case of Poland

“…It refers both to traditional communication provided by such media and to their social media profiles, such as Facebook, Twitter, or the Internet profiles of TVP or TVP Info. In her research analysis of the above-mentioned media covering three months of 2018 (from June 30 to September 28), Agnieszka Węglińska (2020) found 395 references to German, Germany, or Merkel -mainly negative ones. The picture characterising Germany and German people was not intended to present the mutual relations between both countries and their citizens but to stigmatize and arouse resentment or even fear to reinforce consolidation around the ruling party.…”