The Polarization Loop: How Emotions Drive Propagation of Disinformation in Online Media—The Case of Conspiracy Theories and Extreme Right Movements in Southern Europe
This paper examines the influence of emotions on political polarization, looking at online propagation of conspiracy thinking by extreme right movements in Southern Europe. Integrating insights from psychology, political science, media studies, and system theory, we propose the ‘polarization loop’,...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2024-11-01
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| Series: | Social Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/13/11/603 |
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| author | Erik Bran Marino Jesus M. Benitez-Baleato Ana Sofia Ribeiro |
| author_facet | Erik Bran Marino Jesus M. Benitez-Baleato Ana Sofia Ribeiro |
| author_sort | Erik Bran Marino |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This paper examines the influence of emotions on political polarization, looking at online propagation of conspiracy thinking by extreme right movements in Southern Europe. Integrating insights from psychology, political science, media studies, and system theory, we propose the ‘polarization loop’, a causal mechanism explaining the cyclical relationship between extreme messages, emotional engagement, media amplification, and societal polarization. We illustrate the utility of the polarization loop observing the use of the Great Replacement Theory by extreme right movements in Italy, Portugal, and Spain. We suggest possible options to mitigate the negative effects of online polarization in democracy, including public oversight of algorithmic decission-making, involving social science and humanities in algorithmic design, and strengthening resilience of citizenship to prevent emotional overflow. We encourage interdisciplinary research where historical analysis can guide computational methods such as Natural Language Processing (NLP), using Large Language Models fine-tunned consistently with political science research. Provided the intimate nature of emotions, the focus of connected research should remain on structural patterns rather than individual behavior, making it explicit that results derived from this research cannot be applied as the base for decisions, automated or not, that may affect individuals. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-85ffd27e063c49aebb383c75764e57a4 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2076-0760 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Social Sciences |
| spelling | doaj-art-85ffd27e063c49aebb383c75764e57a42025-08-20T02:04:44ZengMDPI AGSocial Sciences2076-07602024-11-01131160310.3390/socsci13110603The Polarization Loop: How Emotions Drive Propagation of Disinformation in Online Media—The Case of Conspiracy Theories and Extreme Right Movements in Southern EuropeErik Bran Marino0Jesus M. Benitez-Baleato1Ana Sofia Ribeiro2CIDEHUS—Centro Interdisciplinar de História, Culturas e Sociedades, Universidade de Évora, Palácio do Vimioso, Largo do Marquês de Marialva, n.º 8, 7000-809 Évora, PortugalPolitical Analysis Research Group (Grupo de Investigacións Políticas), Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 15705 Santiago de Compostela, SpainCIDEHUS—Centro Interdisciplinar de História, Culturas e Sociedades, Universidade de Évora, Palácio do Vimioso, Largo do Marquês de Marialva, n.º 8, 7000-809 Évora, PortugalThis paper examines the influence of emotions on political polarization, looking at online propagation of conspiracy thinking by extreme right movements in Southern Europe. Integrating insights from psychology, political science, media studies, and system theory, we propose the ‘polarization loop’, a causal mechanism explaining the cyclical relationship between extreme messages, emotional engagement, media amplification, and societal polarization. We illustrate the utility of the polarization loop observing the use of the Great Replacement Theory by extreme right movements in Italy, Portugal, and Spain. We suggest possible options to mitigate the negative effects of online polarization in democracy, including public oversight of algorithmic decission-making, involving social science and humanities in algorithmic design, and strengthening resilience of citizenship to prevent emotional overflow. We encourage interdisciplinary research where historical analysis can guide computational methods such as Natural Language Processing (NLP), using Large Language Models fine-tunned consistently with political science research. Provided the intimate nature of emotions, the focus of connected research should remain on structural patterns rather than individual behavior, making it explicit that results derived from this research cannot be applied as the base for decisions, automated or not, that may affect individuals.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/13/11/603disinformationpolarizationemotionsconspiracyartificial intelligencenatural language processing |
| spellingShingle | Erik Bran Marino Jesus M. Benitez-Baleato Ana Sofia Ribeiro The Polarization Loop: How Emotions Drive Propagation of Disinformation in Online Media—The Case of Conspiracy Theories and Extreme Right Movements in Southern Europe Social Sciences disinformation polarization emotions conspiracy artificial intelligence natural language processing |
| title | The Polarization Loop: How Emotions Drive Propagation of Disinformation in Online Media—The Case of Conspiracy Theories and Extreme Right Movements in Southern Europe |
| title_full | The Polarization Loop: How Emotions Drive Propagation of Disinformation in Online Media—The Case of Conspiracy Theories and Extreme Right Movements in Southern Europe |
| title_fullStr | The Polarization Loop: How Emotions Drive Propagation of Disinformation in Online Media—The Case of Conspiracy Theories and Extreme Right Movements in Southern Europe |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Polarization Loop: How Emotions Drive Propagation of Disinformation in Online Media—The Case of Conspiracy Theories and Extreme Right Movements in Southern Europe |
| title_short | The Polarization Loop: How Emotions Drive Propagation of Disinformation in Online Media—The Case of Conspiracy Theories and Extreme Right Movements in Southern Europe |
| title_sort | polarization loop how emotions drive propagation of disinformation in online media the case of conspiracy theories and extreme right movements in southern europe |
| topic | disinformation polarization emotions conspiracy artificial intelligence natural language processing |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/13/11/603 |
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