Are Online Political Influencers Accelerating Democratic Deconsolidation?

Rachel Gibson, Esmeralda Bon, Philipp Darius and Peter Smyth
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Rachel Gibson: Department of Politics, University of Manchester, UK
Esmeralda Bon: Department of Politics, University of Manchester, UK
Philipp Darius: Center for Digital Governance, Hertie School, Germany
Peter Smyth: Cathie Marsh Institute for Social Research, University of Manchester, UK

Media and Communication, 2023, vol. 11, issue 3, 175-186

Abstract: Social media campaigning is increasingly linked with anti-democratic outcomes, with concerns to date centring on paid adverts, rather than organic content produced by a new set of online political influencers. This study systematically compares voter exposure to these new campaign actors with candidate-sponsored ads, as well as established and alternative news sources during the US 2020 presidential election. Specifically, we examine how far higher exposure to these sources is linked with key trends identified in the democratic deconsolidation thesis. We use data from a national YouGov survey designed to measure digital campaign exposure to test our hypotheses. Findings show that while higher exposure to online political influencers is linked to more extremist opinions, followers are not disengaging from conventional politics. Exposure to paid political ads, however, is confirmed as a potential source of growing distrust in political institutions.

Keywords: democratic deconsolidation; digital campaigning; micro-influencers; online election; online influencers; social media (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:3:p:175-186

DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i3.6813

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