Back A research by the Ideograma-UPF Chair concludes that far-right communication on social networks is populist, increases polarization and simplifies political discourse

A research by the Ideograma-UPF Chair concludes that far-right communication on social networks is populist, increases polarization and simplifies political discourse

The report is the result of research by Sandra Pallarés, winner of the Ideograma – UPF Chair Award  2021, in which she has studied the discourse of the radical right in the digital public sphere.
25.01.2022

 

The communication of the populist radical right in social networks. Analysis of the cases of Santiago Abascal on Twitter, Matteo Salvini on Instagram and Keiko Fujimori on TikTok is the title of the new report from the UPF Ideogram Chair in Political Communication and Democracy.

This report has been prepared by Sandra Pallarés Navarro, winner of the Ideograma - UPF Chair Award 2021, with the research “The populist discourse on Twitter. Analysis of the case of Santiago Abascal in the electoral campaign of 10N
 
With Sandra Pallarés, a doctoral student in the Information and Communication Doctorate program at the University of Zaragoza, we have established a collaboration framework to broaden her line of research and delve into the methodology used, as well as take advantage of the results of her work, either in informative or scientific terms.
 
The research will be presented by Sandra Pallarés, on February 16 at the International Seminar on Hate Speech, Populism and the Digital Sphere that will take place at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra (Barcelona).
 

This report is a reduced version of the complete work, which will be published within the next few months.

The populist speech in social networks

Through collaboration with the Chair, we expanded the analysis by incorporating the cases of Keiko Fujimori on TikTok and Matteo Salvini on Instagram.
 
In the 3 selected political figures, a specific electoral period is chosen to analyze the use of the network they use:
 
  • Santiago Abascal: the electoral campaign corresponding to the general elections of November 10, 2019.
  • Matteo Salvini: the campaign relating to the elections held on March 4, 2018.
  • Keiko Fujimori: the campaign that corresponds to the elections of June 6, 2021.

 

Abascal, Salvini and Fujimori: 3 political leaders selected.

This allows for cross-platform analysis (Twitter, TikTok and Instagram) and international analysis (Peru, Italy and Spain). Thus observing the typologies of use of each social network, as well as the different characteristics of the populist movements in each country.
 
The main objective of the study is to analyze the communication style in social networks of these three political leaders, belonging to the far-right family, in that social network that is considered more aligned with their strategy during the electoral campaign. As specific objectives are raised:
 

O1: Analyze the central themes of the publications shared by politicians.

O2: Examine the elements of populist rhetoric that are present in the candidates' publications.

O3: Investigate what image each politician projects in the social network studied and determine what type of leadership they intend to convey.

O4: Study the use of audiovisual and interactive resources, as well as the argumentative function of the messages, to identify the communication strategies followed by the three politicians.

Images and videos, interactive resources and text messages are studied, conducting a study both qualitatively and quantitatively. Specifically, the following data have been analysed:
 
- 136 publications present in the Santiago Abascal account on Twitter during the electoral campaign of November 10, 2019.
 
- 131 messages included in Matteo Salvini's Instagram account during the electoral campaign of March 4, 2018.
 
- 27 publications present in Keiko Fujimori's TikTok account during the electoral campaign of June 6, 2021.

Report Conclusions

'The communication of the populist radical right in social networks' reaches the following conclusions:

  1. Self-referential approach in the use of the 3 social networks, by all the candidates. Either offering a presidential image, or to show closeness and naturalness.
  2. Abascal's speech presents the necessary characteristics to be classified as national-populist. Instead, Salvini and Fujimori are closer to populism. The first trying to rationalize and justify the populist discourse and the second, simplifying its political discourse, trivializing the content of the political debate and prioritizing spectacularization.
  3. Abascal is shown as the hero, with values ​​associated with the defense of the homeland and Spanish nationalism. Salvini, for his part, opts for the profile of statesman/populist. While Fujimori enhances the humanization of her political figure to show herself as a very close candidate.
  4. 3 different tones. Santiago Abascal's speech seeks to polarize the debate through a critical and aggressive tone. Salvini opts for a more moderate tone. Finally, Fujimori has a friendly political discourse, breaking the distance between the political class and citizens.

 

Sandra Pallarés, winner of the Ideograma - UPF Chair Award..

The objective of the Ideograma - UPF Chair Award, apart from rewarding the quality of the winning work, is also to make the results of research more profitable, whether in the context of scientific production or dissemination. This report is an example of that. This collaboration will remain in force in the following editions of the Award.

You can consult the report in the following link: 

REPORT: La comunicación de la derecha radical populista en redes sociales. Análisis de los casos de Santiago Abascal en Twitter, Matteo Salvini en Instagram y Keiko Fujimori en TikTok by Sandra Pallarés.

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