Tipping the scale? Social media’s influences on EU attitudes and vote choice in the Danish 2015 EU referendum

Jakob Ohme, Erik Albæk

Research output: Contribution to conference without publisher/journalPaperResearchpeer-review

Abstract

Citizens’ media use can be an important predictor of attitudes towards the European Union; those attitudes, in turn, can affect EU-related vote decisions. Elementary changes in the media environment and the increasing pressure on the EU in recent referendums may therefore be connected (e.g. Denmark 2015; The Netherlands, 2016; Brexit, 2016). It is possible that a one-sided political information exposure on social media platforms results in polarized political opinions. However, little is known about the consequences of opinion polarization on democratic behavior, such the vote choice in a referendum. Using a two-wave survey design (n=675), the study investigates if political social media use reinforces existing attitudes towards the EU. Subsequently, positive and negative polarization tendencies are connected to the ‘yes or no’ vote of Danish citizens in the 2015 EU referendum. The study points to the relevance of social media as an amplifier of voters’ attitudes that may decide a tight political race.
Original languageEnglish
Publication date26. May 2018
Publication statusPublished - 26. May 2018
EventICA Prague 2018 - Prague , Czech Republic
Duration: 24. May 201828. May 2018

Conference

ConferenceICA Prague 2018
Country/TerritoryCzech Republic
CityPrague
Period24/05/201828/05/2018

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Tipping the scale? Social media’s influences on EU attitudes and vote choice in the Danish 2015 EU referendum'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
  • ICA Prague 2018

    Ohme, J. (Participant)

    24. May 201828. May 2018

    Activity: Attending an eventConference organisation or participation

Cite this