Quantitative–qualitative analysis reveals how Slovak political actors influenced public discourse during the pandemic, highlighting narrative success and risks of misinformation.
Key Points
The research aims to analyze the narratives used by Slovak political actors on Facebook during the COVID-19 pandemic and their impact on political discourse.
Conducted quantitative and qualitative content analysis of Facebook posts from 2020 to 2021.
Examined narratives related to vaccination, testing, masks, treatment, and antipandemic measures.
Analyzed the frequency, structure, and interactivity of narratives present in the posts.
Social networks, particularly Facebook, were vital in political communication during the pandemic.
High personalization and polarization characterized the discourse.
Opposition representatives effectively utilized conflictual narratives to engage the audience.