Social media populism: features and ‘likeability’ of Lega Nord communication on Facebook

Social media have changed the way politicians communicate with and relate to their constituencies during election campaigns and routine periods alike. Many scholars have postulated that populists would benefit most from the new digital media. Despite their growing importance, few studies have addres...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:European political science 2019-03, Vol.18 (1), p.11-23
Main Author: Bobba, Giuliano
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Communication
Comparative Politics
Computer mediated communication
Constituents
Digital media
Electronic publishing
Elites
Intellectuals
Internet
Likeability
Mass media
Political campaigns
Political communication
Political Science
Political Science and International Relations
Political Science and International Studies
Political Theory
Politicians
Populism
Profiles
Social media
Social networks
Supporters
Symposium
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Summary:Social media have changed the way politicians communicate with and relate to their constituencies during election campaigns and routine periods alike. Many scholars have postulated that populists would benefit most from the new digital media. Despite their growing importance, few studies have addressed the features of online populist communication and how to assess its success. The purpose of this article is to fill this gap by providing a framework for the analysis of populist communication on social media. Taking the case of Italy’s Lega Nord (Northern League (LN)) as an example, the article will clarify which aspects of online communication are most valued by LN supporters, in relation to both the key elements of populism (references to ‘the people’, ‘elites’ and ‘others’) and the expression of an emotional style in the messages. The article analyses the controlled communication that LN and its leader, Matteo Salvini, published on their Facebook profiles during a sample period of 30 days. Our findings demonstrate that populism, emotional style and, in general, the role of the leader as a source of communication positively affect the ‘likeability’ of a message.
ISSN:1680-4333
1682-0983
DOI:10.1057/s41304-017-0141-8