Patterns of Polarizing Communication During COVID-19: Emotionality, Incivility, Conflict, and Negativity in Facebook Posts of Government and Opposition Leaders

Authors

  • Alena Kluknavská Department of Media Studies and Journalism Faculty of Social Studies Masaryk University
  • Alena Macková Department of Media Studies and Journalism Faculty of Social Studies Masaryk University

Keywords:

polarizing communication, emotionality, incivility, conflict, negativity, government, populist, COVID-19

Abstract

Contemporary politics has been filled with increasing political disagreements beyond opinion contestation essential for democratic competition. This study examines the polarizing communication of government and opposition leaders on the social networking site Facebook in the Czech Republic during the COVID-19 pandemic. Bringing a communication approach to the social identity perspective on polarization, we conceptualize polarizing communication as simultaneous expressions of in-group favoritism toward allies and out-group hostility toward opponents in political messages. We empirically examine the role of negativity and affiliation with a populist party and the government in using polarizing communication during different pandemic waves. We use the data from a manual content analysis (n = 1,581) of social media content created by government actors (prime minister, ministers) and leaders of opposition parties (2020–2021). Our results reveal that polarizing communication during a crisis is associated with the use of incivility and conflict in political messages, and its usage depends on the characteristics of political actors driving it, with populist and opposition leaders employing polarizing communication more.

Author Biographies

Alena Kluknavská, Department of Media Studies and Journalism Faculty of Social Studies Masaryk University

Alena Kluknavská is an assistant professor at the Department of Media Studies and Journalism at Masaryk University. Her research focuses on political communication and mediated public and political discourses on migration and minority issues. She is also interested in understanding the communication strategies and successes of the populist radical right parties and movements in Central and Eastern Europe. Recently, her work has focused on truth contestation and polarization in political elite discourses, particularly on social media. She received her PhD at Comenius University in Bratislava in 2015. ORCID: 0000-0002-3679-3335

Alena Macková, Department of Media Studies and Journalism Faculty of Social Studies Masaryk University

Alena Macková is an assistant professor at the Department of Media Studies and Journalism at Masaryk University. She has a doctoral degree in political science and was the principal investigator in the project Political Polarization in the Czech Republic: the Case of Multiparty System. She focuses in her research on changes in the new information environment and their consequences for political communication. She received her Ph.D. at Masaryk University in 2017. ORCID: 0000-0001-5967-5166

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Published

2024-10-29

Issue

Vol. 18 (2024)

Section

Articles

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