Facebook as a Source of Political Information in Poland

• Authors: Jakub Jakubowski , Denis Halagiera , Agnieszka Stępińska , Damian Trilling

Title variants

PL

Facebook jako źródło informacji politycznej w Polsce

Abstracts

PL

Celem artykułu jest analiza roli Facebooka jako źródła informacji politycznej w Polsce. W badaniu wykorzystano wyniki ankiety, analizę zawartości polskojęzycznych przekazów medialnych rozpowszechnionych w ramach portalu Facebook oraz metody obliczeniowe. Wyniki badania wykazały, że Facebook stał się ważnym źródłem informacji politycznej dla wszystkich pokoleń Polaków, w szczególności zaś dla najmłodszych dorosłych (18–25 lat). Większość użytkowników korzysta z mediów społecznościowych w celu zdobycia informacji o polityce przynajmniej raz dziennie, a Facebook jest dla nich najpopularniejszym źródłem takich informacji. Dużą rolę odgrywają w tym procesie znajomi i rodzina, pełniąc funkcję pośredników. Ponadto nasze badanie wykazało znaczenie tematyki informacji (polityka) oraz kontekstu (wybory) dla konsumowania i udostępniania treści w mediach społecznościowych.

EN

The aim of the paper is to study the role of Facebook as a source of political information for Polish media users. The study combines a survey, a content analysis of Polish-language news items disseminated through Facebook, and computational methods. Findings revealed that Facebook has already gained a position as a crucial agent of political communication across generations in Poland. Most Poles use social media for acquisition of information about politics at least once a day and Facebook is the most popular source among them, what is especially apparent among young people (18–25 years old). Friends and family play also an important role in this process as either gatekeepers or opinion leaders. Additionally, our study revealed that topic (politics) and context (elections) matter when it comes to news consumption and news sharing on social media.

Keywords

EN

media use; political information; Facebook; source of information; Poland

PL

korzystanie z mediów; informacja polityczna; Facebook; źródło informacji; Polska

• Publisher: Wydawnictwo Adam Marszałek
• Journal: Athenaeum. Polskie Studia Politologiczne
• Year: 2022
• Volume: 75
• Pages: 225-241

Dates

published

2022

Contributors

author

Jakub Jakubowski

• Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań

author

Denis Halagiera

• Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań

author

Agnieszka Stępińska

• Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań

author

Damian Trilling

• University of Amsterdam

References

• Ahlers, D. (2006). News Consumption and the New Electronic Media.The Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics, 11(1), 29–52. DOI: 10.1177/1081180X05284317.
• Boukes, M. (2019). Social Network Sites and Acquiring Current Affairs Knowledge: The Impact of Twitter and Facebook Usage on Learning about the News.Journal of Information Technology & Politics, 16(1), 36–51. DOI: 10.1080/19331681.2019.1572568.
• Bradshaw, S., Bailey, H., & Howard, Ph.N. (2021, January). Industrialized Disinformation. 2020 Global Inventory of Organized Social Media Manipulation. Oxford, UK: Programme on Democracy & Technology. Retrieved from: https://demtech.oii.ox.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/127/2021/01/CyberTroop-Report-2020-v.2.pdf.
• Castro, L., Strömback, J., Esser, F., Van Aelst, P., de Vreese, C.H., Aalberg, T., Cardenal, A.S., Corbu, N., Hopmann, D.N., Koc-Michalska, K., Matthes, J., Schemer, C., Sheafer, T., Splendore, S., Stanyer, J., Stępińska, A., Theocharis, Y., & Štětka, V. (2022). Navigating High-Choice European Political Information Environments: A Comparative Analysis of News User Profiles and Political Knowledge. The International Journal of Press/Politics, 27(4), 827–859. DOI: 10.1177/19401612211012572.
• Digital 2020: Poland. (2020, February 18). Retrieved from: https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2020-poland.
• Dobek-Ostrowska, B. (2018). Polish Media System in a Comparative Perspective. Frankfurt: Peter Lang.
• EIU (Economist Intelligence Unit). (2021). Democracy Index 2020: In Sickness and in Health? Retrieved from: https://www.eiu.com/n/campaigns/democracyindex-2020/.
• Elvestad, E., & Phillips, A. (Eds.). (2018). Misunderstanding News Audiences: Seven Myths of the Social Media Era. Abingdon & New York: Routledge.
• Esser, F., de Vreese, C.H., Strömbäck, J., Van Aelst, P., Aalberg, T., Stanyer, J., Lengauer, G., Berganza, R., Legnante, G., Papathanassopoulos, S., Salgado, S., Sheafer, T., & Reinemann, C. (2012). Political Information Opportunities in Europe: A Longitudinal and Comparative Study of Thirteen Television Systems.International Journal of Press/Politics, 17(3), 247–274. DOI: 10.1177/1940161212442956.
• (2019). Media Use in the European Union. Standard Eurobarometer 92. Retrieved from: https://data.europa.eu/data/datasets/s2255_92_3_std92_eng?locale=en.
• Fletcher, R., & Nielsen, R.K. (2018). Are People Incidentally Exposed to News on Social Media? A Comparative Analysis. New Media & Society, 20(7), 2450–2468. DOI: 10.1177/1461444817724170.
• Galtung, J., & Ruge, M.H. (1965). The Structure of Foreign News: The Presentation of the Congo, Cuba and Cyprus Crises in Four Norwegian Newspapers. Journal of Peace Research, 2(1), 64–90. DOI: 10.1177/002234336500200104.
• Haim, M., Graefe, A., & Brosius, H.B. (2018). Burst of the Filter Bubble? Effects of Personalization on the Diversity of Google News. Digital Journalism, 6(3), 330–343. DOI: 10.1080/21670811.2017.1338145.
• Harcup, T., & O’Neill, D. (2017). What Is News? News Values Revisited (Again).Journalism Studies, 18(12), 1470–1488. DOI: 10.1080/1461670x.2016.1150193.
• Hilverda, F., Kuttschreuter, M., & Giebels, E. (2018). The Effect of Online Social Proof Regarding Organic Food: Comments and Likes on Facebook. Frontiers in Communication, 3, 30. DOI: 10.3389/fcomm.2018.00030.
• Internet World Stats. (2021). [Internet, Facebook and Population Stats for Europe]. Retrieved from: https://www.internetworldstats.com/stats4.htm#europe.
• Jakubowski, J. (2020). Social media i polityka. Organizacja – procesy – finanse. Poznań: Wydawnictwo WNPiD UAM.
• Jakubowski, J. (2021). Political Socialization in Meme Times: Adolescents and the Sources of Knowledge Concerning Politics. Review of Education, Pedagogy, and Cultural Studies, 43(3), 254–274. DOI: 10.1080/10714413.2021.1872315.
• Kim, D.H., Jones-Jang, S.M., & Kenski, K. (2021). Why Do People Share Political Information on Social Media? Digital Journalism, 9(8), 1123–1140. DOI: 10.1080/21670811.2020.1827966.
• Kinowska-Mazaraki, Z. (2021). The Polish Paradox: From a Fight for Democracy to the Political Radicalization and Social Exclusion. Social Sciences, 10(3), 112. DOI: 10.3390/socsci10030112.
• Klinger, U., & Svensson, J. (2015). The Emergence of Network Media Logic in Political Communication: A Theoretical Approach. New Media & Society, 17(8), 1241–1257. DOI: 10.1177/1461444814522952.
• Klinger, U., & Svensson, J. (2020). What Media Logics Can Tell Us About the Internet? Studying Online Politics Beyond Techno-Optimism and Normalization. In: J. Hunsinger, M.M. Allen, & L. Klastrup (Eds.). Second International Handbook of Internet Research (pp. 367–380). Dordrecht: Springer. DOI: 10.1007/978-94-024- 1555-1_48.
• Lakomy, M. (2014). Tweety na szczycie. Polityka responsywna. Studia Medioznawcze, 2, 153–164.
• Lee, S., & Xenos, M. (2019). Social Distraction? Social Media Use and Political Knowledge in Two US Presidential Elections. Computers in Human Behavior, 90, 18–25. DOI: 10.1016/j.chb.2018.08.006.
• Lehman-Wilzig, S.N., & Seletzky, M. (2010). Hard News, Soft News, ‘General’ News: The Necessity and Utility of an Intermediate Classification. Journalism, 11(1), 37–56. DOI: 10.1177/1464884909350642.
• Lin, Y.R., Keegan, B., Margolin, D., & Lazer, D. (2014). Rising Tides or Rising Stars?: Dynamics of Shared Attention on Twitter during Media Events. PLoS ONE, 9(5), e94093. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0094093.
• Messing, S., DeGregorio, C., Hillenbrand, B., King, G., Mahanti, S., Mukerjee, Z., Nayak, C., Persily, N., State, B., & Wilkins, A. (2020). Facebook Privacy-Protected Full URLs Data Set. DOI: 10.7910/DVN/TDOAPG.
• Newman, N., Fletcher, R., Schulz, A., Andı, S., & Kleis, R.K. (Eds.). (2020, June). Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2020. UK: Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, Oxford University. Retrieved from: https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2020-06/DNR_2020_FINAL.pdf.
• Perloff, R.M. (1998). Political Communication: Politics, Press and Public in America. London: Routledge.
• Picone, I. (2016). Grasping the Digital News User: Conceptual and Methodological Advances in News Use Studies. Digital Journalism, 4(1), 125–141. DOI: 10.1080/21670811.2015.1096616.
• Picone, I. (2017). Conceptualizing Media Users across Media: The Case for ‘Media User/Use’ as Analytical Concepts. Convergence, 23(4), 378–390. DOI: 10.1177/1354856517700380.
• Pierson, J., Mante-Meijer, E., & Loos, E. (Eds.). (2011). New Media Technologies and User Empowerment. Frankfurt: Peter Lang.
• Reporters Without Borders. (2021). 2021 Word Press Freedom Index. Reporters Without Borders. Retrieved from: https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2021.
• Rogodzińska, K., & Obrębska, M. (2018). Współczesne tabu językowe, czyli o czym nie mówią Polacy.Człowiek i Społeczeństwo, 45, 127–149. DOI: 10.14746/cis.2018.45.7.
• Shehata, A., & Strömbäck, J. (2021). Learning Political News from Social Media: Network Media Logic and Current Affairs News Learning in a High-Choice Media Environment.Communication Research, 48(1), 125–147. DOI: 10.1177/0093650217749354.
• Stier, S., Bleier, A., Lietz, H., & Strohmaier, M. (2018). Election Campaigning on Social Media: Politicians, Audiences, and the Mediation of Political Communication on Facebook and Twitter. Political Communication, 35(1), 50–74. DOI: 10.1080/10584609.2017.1334728.
• Stoll, J. (2021). Daily Television Viewing Time in European Countries 2018. Retrieved from: https://www.statista.com/statistics/422719/tv-daily-viewing-time-europe.
• Strömbäck, J. (2005). In Search of a Standard: Four Models of Democracy and Their Normative Implications for Journalism. Journalism Studies, 6(3), 331–345. DOI: 10.1080/14616700500131950.
• Szpunar, M. (2013). Wokół koncepcji gatekeepingu. Od gatekeepingu tradycyjnego do technologicznego. In: I.S. Fiut (Ed.). Człowiek w komunikacji i kulturze [Man in Communication and Culture] (pp. 55–65). Kraków: Wydawnictwo Aureus.
• Trilling, D., Tolochko, P., & Burscher, B. (2017). From Newsworthiness to Shareworthiness: How to Predict News Sharing Based on Article Characteristics.Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 94(1), 38–60. DOI: 10.1177/1077699016654682.
• Trilling, D., Kulshrestha, J., de Vreese, C., Halagiera, D., Jakubowski, J., Moeller, J., Puschmann, C., Stępińska, A., Stier, S., & Vaccari, C. (2022). Is Sharing Just a Function of Viewing? Predictors of Sharing Political and Non-Political News on Facebook. SocArXiv Papers. DOI: 10.31235/osf.io/am23n.
• Turcotte, J., York, Ch., Irving, J., Scholl, R.M., & Pingree R.J. (2015). News Recommendations from Social Media Opinion Leaders: Effects on Media Trust and Information Seeking. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 20(5), 520–535. DOI: 10.1111/jcc4.12127.
• Urząd Komunikacji Elektronicznej. (2019, January 31). 93 proc. Polaków korzysta z telefonów komórkowych, 72,7 procent ma dostęp d internetu (raport). Retrieved from: https://www.wirtualnemedia.pl/artykul/dziewieciu-na-dziesieciu-polakowkorzysta-z-komorki-72-7-procent-ma-dostep-do-internetu-badanie-uke.
• Van Aelst, P., Strömbäck, J., Aalberg, T., Esser, F., de Vreese, C.H., Matthes, J., Hopmann, D., Salgado, S., Hubé, N., Stępińska, A., … & Stanyer, J. (2017). Political Communication in a High-Choice Media Environment: A Challenge for Democracy? Annals of the International Communication Association, 41(1), 3–27. DOI: 10.1080/23808985.2017.1288551.
• van Erkel, P.F.A., & Van Aelst, P. (2021). Why Don’t We Learn from Social Media? Studying Effects of and Mechanisms behind Social Media News Use on General Surveillance Political Knowledge. Political Communication, 38(4), 407–425. DOI: 10.1080/10584609.2020.1784328.
• Weimann, G. (2017). Multistep Flow of Communication: Evolution of the Paradigm. In: P. Rössler, C.A. Hoffner, & L. van Zoonen (Eds.). The International Encyclopedia of Media Effects. Vol. 2 (pp. 1308–1318). Chichester, West Sussex: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. DOI: 10.1002/9781118783764.wbieme0055.

Identifiers

DOI

10.15804/athena.2022.75.13

Biblioteka Nauki

2163333