This study explores how news messages carrying parts of the populist ideology contribute to a polarization of public opinion about populism. It combines a content analysis of news coverage on two policy areas (N = 7,119 stories) with a two-wave panel survey (N = 2,338) in four European metropolitan regions (Berlin, Paris, London, and Zurich). In three regions, unopposed media messages with a populist stance have a conditional effect on populist attitudes that depends on prior convictions. A higher dose of exposure to populist news coverage enhances both prior agreement and disagreement with populism. Although the observed interaction patterns vary between regions, the general picture suggests that populist messages in the news foster polarization between public support and disapproval of populism.

中文翻译：

---

新闻报道对公众民粹主义态度的两极分化影响：来自四个欧洲民主国家小组研究的证据

本研究探讨了携带部分民粹主义意识形态的新闻信息如何导致关于民粹主义的舆论两极分化。它结合了对两个政策领域（N = 7,119 个故事）的新闻报道内容分析和四个欧洲大都市区（柏林、巴黎、伦敦和苏黎世）的两波面板调查（N = 2,338）。在三个地区，具有民粹主义立场的不受反对的媒体信息对民粹主义态度有条件影响，这取决于先前的信念。更多地接触民粹主义新闻报道会增强对民粹主义的先前同意和不同意。尽管观察到的互动模式因地区而异，但总体情况表明，新闻中的民粹主义信息助长了公众支持和反对民粹主义之间的两极分化。