A question of truth : accusations of untruthfulness by populist
and non-populist politicians on Facebook during the COVID-19
crisis

J 2025

A question of truth : accusations of untruthfulness by populist and non-populist politicians on Facebook during the COVID-19 crisis

KLUKNAVSKÁ, Alena; Olga EISELE; Monika BARTKOWSKA a Nina KRIEGLER

Základní údaje

Originální název

A question of truth : accusations of untruthfulness by populist and non-populist politicians on Facebook during the COVID-19 crisis

Autoři

KLUKNAVSKÁ, Alena ; Olga EISELE; Monika BARTKOWSKA a Nina KRIEGLER

Vydání

Information, Communication & Society, Abingdon, Routledge Journals, Taylor & Francis, 2025, 1369-118X

Další údaje

Jazyk

angličtina

Typ výsledku

Článek v odborném periodiku

Obor

50601 Political science

Stát vydavatele

Velká Británie a Severní Irsko

Utajení

není předmětem státního či obchodního tajemství

Odkazy

article - open access

Impakt faktor

Impact factor: 3.300 v roce 2024

Označené pro přenos do RIV

Ano

Organizační jednotka

Fakulta sociálních studií

Klíčová slova anglicky

Accusations of untruthfulness; populism; social mediacrisis; COVID-19

Štítky

rivok

Příznaky

Mezinárodní význam, Recenzováno

Změněno: 30. 1. 2026 11:44, Mgr. Blanka Farkašová

Anotace

V originále

Online environments can foster opportunities for political engagement but can also hinder democratic deliberation by promoting hostile and polarizing communication. A prominent concern revolves around the attacks on political actors’ truthfulness in public discourse. Such discourse is expressed through anti-elite and antagonistic attacks on perceived (un)truthfulness employed by some politicians toward political opponents in public debates, and it is argued to maintain a close affinity with populist politics. During crises, when people seek guidance from elites, discourses of untruthfulness can lead to further uncertainty by eroding trust in political leadership. Relying on the extensive claims analysis of 7,109 Facebook posts published by political party leaders between March 2020 and February 2021, this study investigates how accusations of untruthfulness unfold in the social media posts of populist and non-populist political leaders in Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, and Poland during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our findings show that populist leaders are generally more prone to utilize accusations of untruthfulness in their social media posts than non-populist politicians, but the extent of attacks is context-dependent.

Návaznosti

LX22NPO5101, projekt VaV

Název: Národní institut pro výzkum socioekonomických dopadů nemocí a systémových rizik (Akronym: SYRI)

Investor: Ministerstvo školství, mládeže a tělovýchovy ČR, Národní institut pro výzkum socioekonomických dopadů nemocí a systémových rizik, 5.1 EXCELES

Přiložené soubory

A_question_of_truth.pdf

rics_a_2357708_sm4369.docx

Citovat

KLUKNAVSKÁ, Alena; Olga EISELE; Monika BARTKOWSKA a Nina KRIEGLER. A question of truth : accusations of untruthfulness by populist and non-populist politicians on Facebook during the COVID-19 crisis. Information, Communication & Society. Abingdon: Routledge Journals, Taylor & Francis, 2025, roč. 28, č. 2, s. 258-277. ISSN 1369-118X. Dostupné z: https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2024.2357708.

@article{2409500,
   author = {Kluknavská, Alena and Eisele, Olga and Bartkowska, Monika and Kriegler, Nina},
   article_location = {Abingdon},
   article_number = {2},
   doi = {https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2024.2357708},
   keywords = {Accusations of untruthfulness; populism; social mediacrisis; COVID-19},
   language = {eng},
   issn = {1369-118X},
   journal = {Information, Communication & Society},
   title = {A question of truth : accusations of untruthfulness by populist and non-populist politicians on Facebook during the COVID-19 crisis},
   url = {https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1369118X.2024.2357708},
   volume = {28},
   year = {2025}
}

TY  - JOUR
ID  - 2409500
AU  - Kluknavská, Alena - Eisele, Olga - Bartkowska, Monika - Kriegler, Nina
PY  - 2025
TI  - A question of truth : accusations of untruthfulness by populist and non-populist politicians on Facebook during the COVID-19 crisis
JF  - Information, Communication & Society
VL  - 28
IS  - 2
SP  - 258-277
EP  - 258-277
PB  - Routledge Journals, Taylor & Francis
SN  - 1369118X
KW  - Accusations of untruthfulness
KW  - populism
KW  - social mediacrisis
KW  - COVID-19
UR  - https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1369118X.2024.2357708
N2  - Online environments can foster opportunities for political engagement but can also hinder democratic deliberation by promoting hostile and polarizing communication. A prominent concern revolves around the attacks on political actors’ truthfulness in public discourse. Such discourse is expressed through anti-elite and antagonistic attacks on perceived (un)truthfulness employed by some politicians toward political opponents in public debates, and it is argued to maintain a close affinity with populist politics. During crises, when people seek guidance from elites, discourses of untruthfulness can lead to further uncertainty by eroding trust in political leadership. Relying on the extensive claims analysis of 7,109 Facebook posts published by political party leaders between March 2020 and February 2021, this study investigates how accusations of untruthfulness unfold in the social media posts of populist and non-populist political leaders in Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, and Poland during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our findings show that populist leaders are generally more prone to utilize accusations of untruthfulness in their social media posts than non-populist politicians, but the extent of attacks is context-dependent.
ER  -

KLUKNAVSKÁ, Alena; Olga EISELE; Monika BARTKOWSKA a Nina KRIEGLER. A question of truth : accusations of untruthfulness by populist and non-populist politicians on Facebook during the COVID-19 crisis. \textit{Information, Communication \&{} Society}. Abingdon: Routledge Journals, Taylor \&{} Francis, 2025, roč.~28, č.~2, s.~258-277. ISSN~1369-118X. Dostupné z: https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2024.2357708.

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