ABSTRACT

Populist parties are often argued to be very skilled in using digital media to attract supporters and strengthen linkages with their followers. However, only rarely has research shown this linkage empirically. This study explores whether arguments about the relation between digital platforms and populist voting can be substantiated using comparative survey data in France, Germany and Italy. Digital media include a variety of online platforms that can affect populist vote in different ways. This article addresses the relation between the political use of digital platforms and the populist vote. First, it looks at how the use of Social Networking Sites (SNS) and Mobile Instant Messaging Services (MIMS) is related to voting for populist parties. Second, it assesses whether the role of digital platforms is different for supporting digital ‘immigrant’ and digital ‘native’ populist parties. Third, it explores country differences in the relation between SNS and MIMS’ use and the populist vote. Using original online surveys, the article shows that political activities on SNS and MIMS platforms (sending messages or posting, discussing or convincing others to vote for a candidate) increase the probability of voting for populist parties. However, it also finds that the political use of digital media is associated with the populist vote under certain (and limited) circumstances, that is only for a subset of populist parties. Finally, it identifies important differences in how SNS and MIMS are linked to the populist vote in countries presenting diverse institutional features, web regulations and constellations of media systems.

摘要

民粹主义政党经常被认为非常擅长使用数字媒体来吸引支持者并加强与追随者的联系。然而，很少有研究从经验上表明这种联系。本研究探讨是否可以使用法国、德国和意大利的比较调查数据来证实有关数字平台与民粹主义投票之间关系的论点。数字媒体包括各种可以以不同方式影响民粹主义投票的在线平台。本文讨论了政治使用之间的关系数字平台和民粹主义投票。首先，它着眼于社交网站 (SNS) 和移动即时消息服务 (MIMS) 的使用与民粹主义政党投票的关系。其次，它评估了数字平台在支持数字“移民”和数字“本土”民粹主义政党方面的作用是否不同。第三，它探讨了 SNS 和 MIMS 使用与民粹主义投票之间关系的国家差异。文章使用原始在线调查显示，SNS 和 MIMS 平台上的政治活动（发送消息或发帖、讨论或说服他人为候选人投票）增加了民粹主义政党投票的可能性。然而，它还发现，在某些（和有限的）情况下，数字媒体的政治使用与民粹主义投票有关，这仅适用于一部分民粹主义政党。最后，它确定了 SNS 和 MIMS 如何与呈现不同制度特征、网络法规和媒体系统星座的国家的民粹主义投票联系起来的重要差异。