Post-Truth Politics in Action? Representation of the Media in Spanish Radical Parties’ Electoral Campaigns
Recent research on the EU institutional response to post-truth politics has shown a gradual shift of focus from external threats to internal democratic challenges, including populist parties and elections. The case of Spain is particularly relevant as the country’s “disinformation landscape” has bee...
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| Language: | English |
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Cogitatio
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Media and Communication |
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| Online Access: | https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/9514 |
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| author | Taru Haapala Juan Roch |
| author_facet | Taru Haapala Juan Roch |
| author_sort | Taru Haapala |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Recent research on the EU institutional response to post-truth politics has shown a gradual shift of focus from external threats to internal democratic challenges, including populist parties and elections. The case of Spain is particularly relevant as the country’s “disinformation landscape” has been assessed as exhibiting “acute political and media polarisation” originating from weak media regulation and changes in political and media environments. Furthermore, the Spanish media landscape is characterised by high levels of media ownership concentration with a lack of transparency regarding media influence on governments and politicians. In this context, this article examines how Spanish left and right radical parties discursively constructed media elites for their political purposes and the (potential) evolution of their electoral campaign discourse in 2019 and 2024. We expect that the increasingly central role of the debate on digital regulation at the EU level and the context of post-truth politics more broadly serve as a new ground for radical parties with a populist discourse to de-legitimise mainstream media. The primary sources of the study include the left-wing (Unidas Podemos/Sumar) and the right-wing (Vox) party leader campaign speeches and manifestos in national and EU elections in 2019 and 2024. Our findings show that, when it comes to European elections, the Spanish populist discourse has an increasing trend towards the inclusion of more transnational discourses on media and media elites, especially regarding disinformation and post-truth, although with significant differences between the left and the right. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-194b2f6ddc2c404db82a77272ecd79b8 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2183-2439 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | Cogitatio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Media and Communication |
| spelling | doaj-art-194b2f6ddc2c404db82a77272ecd79b82025-08-20T03:48:14ZengCogitatioMedia and Communication2183-24392025-05-0113010.17645/mac.95144099Post-Truth Politics in Action? Representation of the Media in Spanish Radical Parties’ Electoral CampaignsTaru Haapala0Juan Roch1University of Jyväskylä, Finland / Department of Political Science and International Relations, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, SpainDepartment of Political Science, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, Madrid, SpainRecent research on the EU institutional response to post-truth politics has shown a gradual shift of focus from external threats to internal democratic challenges, including populist parties and elections. The case of Spain is particularly relevant as the country’s “disinformation landscape” has been assessed as exhibiting “acute political and media polarisation” originating from weak media regulation and changes in political and media environments. Furthermore, the Spanish media landscape is characterised by high levels of media ownership concentration with a lack of transparency regarding media influence on governments and politicians. In this context, this article examines how Spanish left and right radical parties discursively constructed media elites for their political purposes and the (potential) evolution of their electoral campaign discourse in 2019 and 2024. We expect that the increasingly central role of the debate on digital regulation at the EU level and the context of post-truth politics more broadly serve as a new ground for radical parties with a populist discourse to de-legitimise mainstream media. The primary sources of the study include the left-wing (Unidas Podemos/Sumar) and the right-wing (Vox) party leader campaign speeches and manifestos in national and EU elections in 2019 and 2024. Our findings show that, when it comes to European elections, the Spanish populist discourse has an increasing trend towards the inclusion of more transnational discourses on media and media elites, especially regarding disinformation and post-truth, although with significant differences between the left and the right.https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/9514campaign speecheseuropean electionsmedia elitespopulist discoursespost-truth politicsspain |
| spellingShingle | Taru Haapala Juan Roch Post-Truth Politics in Action? Representation of the Media in Spanish Radical Parties’ Electoral Campaigns Media and Communication campaign speeches european elections media elites populist discourses post-truth politics spain |
| title | Post-Truth Politics in Action? Representation of the Media in Spanish Radical Parties’ Electoral Campaigns |
| title_full | Post-Truth Politics in Action? Representation of the Media in Spanish Radical Parties’ Electoral Campaigns |
| title_fullStr | Post-Truth Politics in Action? Representation of the Media in Spanish Radical Parties’ Electoral Campaigns |
| title_full_unstemmed | Post-Truth Politics in Action? Representation of the Media in Spanish Radical Parties’ Electoral Campaigns |
| title_short | Post-Truth Politics in Action? Representation of the Media in Spanish Radical Parties’ Electoral Campaigns |
| title_sort | post truth politics in action representation of the media in spanish radical parties electoral campaigns |
| topic | campaign speeches european elections media elites populist discourses post-truth politics spain |
| url | https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/9514 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT taruhaapala posttruthpoliticsinactionrepresentationofthemediainspanishradicalpartieselectoralcampaigns AT juanroch posttruthpoliticsinactionrepresentationofthemediainspanishradicalpartieselectoralcampaigns |