Augusto Valeriani
Biographic Data
| ID | 291215 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Augusto Valeriani |
| GIVEN NAMES | Augusto |
| FAMILY NAME | Valeriani |
| SIGNATURE | VALERIANI A |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Bologna |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-7979-1858 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 18 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 236 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 18 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2010 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 6 |
Controversies, Problematic Information, and Polarisation
Political trends around the world have drawn further scholarly attention to the study of polarisation, especially also as it is expressed and potentially deepened by public communication on digital and social media platforms. The very concept of polarisation itself, however, remains ill-defined especially in communication research, where it is often used as a mere buzzword without sufficient definition – even in spite of a wide range of conceptua…
Affective polarization between political communication and economic uncertainty during the Covid-19 pandemic in Italy
This article examines how individual changes in the frequency of political information consumption and discussion across different communication environments influenced affective polarization (AP) during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy. Using a three-wave panel survey of Italian citizens and fixed-effects models, we find that increased exposure to political information through legacy media and face-to-face discussions heightened …
A Deliberative Democracy Framework for Analysing Trust in Journalists
In the current public sphere, the “deliberative model of democracy” may represent both the necessary benchmark and the best lens through which to view developments in the public debate. Democracy can never become really deliberative without the active participation of news media. The assumption of this article is that if news media are to disseminate knowledge, trust in them is crucial. This article examines an aspect neglected by studies on medi…
Political participation in the digital technology era
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
Outside the Bubble
The ways in which citizens experience politics on social media have overall positive implications for political participation and equality in Western democracies. This book investigates the relationship between political experiences on social media and institutional political participation based on custom-built post-election surveys on samples representative of Internet users in Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, Spain, the United K…
Citizens’ engagement with popularization and with populist actors on Facebook
By considering the Facebook activity of 52 party leaders during national election campaigns held in 18 Western democracies that went to the polls between 2013 and 2017, we study users’ engagement with popularization and with populist leaders. Finally, we find that when populist leaders adopt popularization as a communicative style, they do not achieve any extra gain vis-a-vis non-populist actors
Diverging patterns of interaction around news on social media
The paper considers how social media ecologies are affecting partisan engagement around political news and online attention economies by investigating the case of the 2018 Italian general election. By analyzing Twitter and Facebook interactions around political news in the lead-up to the election, we shed light on levels of insularity characterizing sources preferred by different partisan communities and investigate how specific patterns of activ…
Fake news' is the invention of a liar
Alarmed by the oversimplifications related to the 'fake news' buzzword, researchers have started to unpack the concept, defining diverse types and forms of misleading news. Most of the existing works in the area consider crucial the intent of the content creator in order to differentiate among different types of problematic information. This article argues for a change of perspective that, by leveraging the conceptual framework of sociocybernetic…
Political talk on mobile instant messaging services
Mobile instant messaging services (MIMS) are emerging as important digital environments in citizens’ everyday lives. We explore the use of MIMS for talking about politics with unique survey data on samples representative of Internet users in Germany, Italy, and the UK. First, we show that robust percentages of our respondents who use MIMS employ them for posting political messages and discussing politics. Second, we demonstrate that political tal…
Dual Screening, Public Service Broadcasting, and Political Participation in Eight Western Democracies
We investigate the relationship between political dual screening—that is, watching political contents on television while reading and commenting on them on social media—and political participation across eight Western democracies: Denmark, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Based on custom built online surveys conducted between 2015 and 2016 on samples representative of the adult population with inte…
Digital Political Talk and Political Participation
We investigate whether and how informal political talk on digital media contributes to citizens' political participation with unique surveys based on samples representative of Internet users in seven Western democracies. We show that political talk on both social networking sites and mobile instant messaging platforms is positively associated with institutional and extra-institutional political participation. However, the relationship between tal…
Party Campaigners or Citizen Campaigners? How Social Media Deepen and Broaden Party-Related Engagement
Digital media are often blamed for accelerating the decline of political parties as channels for citizen participation. By contrast, we show that political engagement on social media may revitalize party activities because these platforms are means for both party members and ordinary citizens to discuss politics and engage with and around political parties. Using online surveys conducted in Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom, we find that par…
Of Echo Chambers and Contrarian Clubs
Scholars have debated whether social media platforms, by allowing users to select the information to which they are exposed, may lead people to isolate themselves from viewpoints with which they disagree, thereby serving as political 'echo chambers.' We investigate hypotheses concerning the circumstances under which Twitter users who communicate about elections would engage with (a) supportive, (b) oppositional, and (c) mixed political networks. …
Accidental exposure to politics on social media as online participation equalizer in Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom
We assess whether and how accidental exposure to political information on social media contributes to citizens’ online political participation in comparative perspective. Based on three online surveys of samples representative of German, Italian, and British Internet users in the aftermath of the 2014 European Parliament elections, we find that accidental exposure to political information on social media is positively and significantly correlated…
Political Expression and Action on Social Media
Scholars and commentators have debated whether lower-threshold forms of political engagement on social media should be treated as being conducive to higher-threshold modes of political participation or a diversion from them. Drawing on an original survey of a representative sample of Italians who discussed the 2013 election on Twitter, we demonstrate that the more respondents acquire political information via social media and express themselves p…
Transformations in Egyptian Journalism
Some might argue that writing a book on a specific news ecosystem in a country that is still going through political turmoil could be potentially un-useful or not even correct. Naomi Sakr's book on the challenges characterizing contemporary Egyptian journalism comes to prove these skeptics wrong.\nThose who argue against the idea of writing on systems subjected to political instability usually stress the fact that, within such realities, actors, …
Follow the leader! Direct and indirect flows of political communication during the 2013 Italian general election campaign
This article evaluates the potential that Twitter affords politicians to communicate to citizens directly, through messages that they broadcast to users who follow them, and indirectly, to the extent that their followers autonomously re-circulate politicians’ messages to their own contacts. Analysis of more than 2 million accounts of followers of 10 national party leaders during the Italian 2013 general election campaign shows that most users are…
Pan-Arab Satellite Television and Arab National Information Systems
Media scholarship has mostly focused on the regional and global dimension of the 'satellite revolution' in Arab news, insisting on concepts such as the 'pan-Arab public sphere' and 'media panarabism.' Taking Egypt as a case study, this article moves from a 'purely' pan-Arab perspective to a broader approach that examines the complex relationship between pan-Arab satellite news media and national media systems. Through a discussion of journalists'…
Accidental exposure to politics on social media as online participation equalizer in Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom
We assess whether and how accidental exposure to political information on social media contributes to citizens’ online political participation in comparative perspective. Based on three online surveys of samples representative of German, Italian, and British Internet users in the aftermath of the 2014 European Parliament elections, we find that accidental exposure to political information on social media is positively and significantly correlated…
Political Expression and Action on Social Media
Scholars and commentators have debated whether lower-threshold forms of political engagement on social media should be treated as being conducive to higher-threshold modes of political participation or a diversion from them. Drawing on an original survey of a representative sample of Italians who discussed the 2013 election on Twitter, we demonstrate that the more respondents acquire political information via social media and express themselves p…
Follow the leader! Direct and indirect flows of political communication during the 2013 Italian general election campaign
This article evaluates the potential that Twitter affords politicians to communicate to citizens directly, through messages that they broadcast to users who follow them, and indirectly, to the extent that their followers autonomously re-circulate politicians’ messages to their own contacts. Analysis of more than 2 million accounts of followers of 10 national party leaders during the Italian 2013 general election campaign shows that most users are…
Party Campaigners or Citizen Campaigners? How Social Media Deepen and Broaden Party-Related Engagement
Digital media are often blamed for accelerating the decline of political parties as channels for citizen participation. By contrast, we show that political engagement on social media may revitalize party activities because these platforms are means for both party members and ordinary citizens to discuss politics and engage with and around political parties. Using online surveys conducted in Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom, we find that par…
Of Echo Chambers and Contrarian Clubs
Scholars have debated whether social media platforms, by allowing users to select the information to which they are exposed, may lead people to isolate themselves from viewpoints with which they disagree, thereby serving as political 'echo chambers.' We investigate hypotheses concerning the circumstances under which Twitter users who communicate about elections would engage with (a) supportive, (b) oppositional, and (c) mixed political networks. …
Fake news' is the invention of a liar
Alarmed by the oversimplifications related to the 'fake news' buzzword, researchers have started to unpack the concept, defining diverse types and forms of misleading news. Most of the existing works in the area consider crucial the intent of the content creator in order to differentiate among different types of problematic information. This article argues for a change of perspective that, by leveraging the conceptual framework of sociocybernetic…
Citizens’ engagement with popularization and with populist actors on Facebook
By considering the Facebook activity of 52 party leaders during national election campaigns held in 18 Western democracies that went to the polls between 2013 and 2017, we study users’ engagement with popularization and with populist leaders. Finally, we find that when populist leaders adopt popularization as a communicative style, they do not achieve any extra gain vis-a-vis non-populist actors
Dual Screening, Public Service Broadcasting, and Political Participation in Eight Western Democracies
We investigate the relationship between political dual screening—that is, watching political contents on television while reading and commenting on them on social media—and political participation across eight Western democracies: Denmark, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Based on custom built online surveys conducted between 2015 and 2016 on samples representative of the adult population with inte…
Digital Political Talk and Political Participation
We investigate whether and how informal political talk on digital media contributes to citizens' political participation with unique surveys based on samples representative of Internet users in seven Western democracies. We show that political talk on both social networking sites and mobile instant messaging platforms is positively associated with institutional and extra-institutional political participation. However, the relationship between tal…
Political participation in the digital technology era
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
Pan-Arab Satellite Television and Arab National Information Systems
Media scholarship has mostly focused on the regional and global dimension of the 'satellite revolution' in Arab news, insisting on concepts such as the 'pan-Arab public sphere' and 'media panarabism.' Taking Egypt as a case study, this article moves from a 'purely' pan-Arab perspective to a broader approach that examines the complex relationship between pan-Arab satellite news media and national media systems. Through a discussion of journalists'…
Follow the leader! Direct and indirect flows of political communication during the 2013 Italian general election campaign
This article evaluates the potential that Twitter affords politicians to communicate to citizens directly, through messages that they broadcast to users who follow them, and indirectly, to the extent that their followers autonomously re-circulate politicians’ messages to their own contacts. Analysis of more than 2 million accounts of followers of 10 national party leaders during the Italian 2013 general election campaign shows that most users are…
Transformations in Egyptian Journalism
Some might argue that writing a book on a specific news ecosystem in a country that is still going through political turmoil could be potentially un-useful or not even correct. Naomi Sakr's book on the challenges characterizing contemporary Egyptian journalism comes to prove these skeptics wrong.\nThose who argue against the idea of writing on systems subjected to political instability usually stress the fact that, within such realities, actors, …
Accidental exposure to politics on social media as online participation equalizer in Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom
We assess whether and how accidental exposure to political information on social media contributes to citizens’ online political participation in comparative perspective. Based on three online surveys of samples representative of German, Italian, and British Internet users in the aftermath of the 2014 European Parliament elections, we find that accidental exposure to political information on social media is positively and significantly correlated…
Political Expression and Action on Social Media
Scholars and commentators have debated whether lower-threshold forms of political engagement on social media should be treated as being conducive to higher-threshold modes of political participation or a diversion from them. Drawing on an original survey of a representative sample of Italians who discussed the 2013 election on Twitter, we demonstrate that the more respondents acquire political information via social media and express themselves p…
Party Campaigners or Citizen Campaigners? How Social Media Deepen and Broaden Party-Related Engagement
Digital media are often blamed for accelerating the decline of political parties as channels for citizen participation. By contrast, we show that political engagement on social media may revitalize party activities because these platforms are means for both party members and ordinary citizens to discuss politics and engage with and around political parties. Using online surveys conducted in Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom, we find that par…
Of Echo Chambers and Contrarian Clubs
Scholars have debated whether social media platforms, by allowing users to select the information to which they are exposed, may lead people to isolate themselves from viewpoints with which they disagree, thereby serving as political 'echo chambers.' We investigate hypotheses concerning the circumstances under which Twitter users who communicate about elections would engage with (a) supportive, (b) oppositional, and (c) mixed political networks. …
Political talk on mobile instant messaging services
Mobile instant messaging services (MIMS) are emerging as important digital environments in citizens’ everyday lives. We explore the use of MIMS for talking about politics with unique survey data on samples representative of Internet users in Germany, Italy, and the UK. First, we show that robust percentages of our respondents who use MIMS employ them for posting political messages and discussing politics. Second, we demonstrate that political tal…
Dual Screening, Public Service Broadcasting, and Political Participation in Eight Western Democracies
We investigate the relationship between political dual screening—that is, watching political contents on television while reading and commenting on them on social media—and political participation across eight Western democracies: Denmark, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Based on custom built online surveys conducted between 2015 and 2016 on samples representative of the adult population with inte…
Digital Political Talk and Political Participation
We investigate whether and how informal political talk on digital media contributes to citizens' political participation with unique surveys based on samples representative of Internet users in seven Western democracies. We show that political talk on both social networking sites and mobile instant messaging platforms is positively associated with institutional and extra-institutional political participation. However, the relationship between tal…
Diverging patterns of interaction around news on social media
The paper considers how social media ecologies are affecting partisan engagement around political news and online attention economies by investigating the case of the 2018 Italian general election. By analyzing Twitter and Facebook interactions around political news in the lead-up to the election, we shed light on levels of insularity characterizing sources preferred by different partisan communities and investigate how specific patterns of activ…
Fake news' is the invention of a liar
Alarmed by the oversimplifications related to the 'fake news' buzzword, researchers have started to unpack the concept, defining diverse types and forms of misleading news. Most of the existing works in the area consider crucial the intent of the content creator in order to differentiate among different types of problematic information. This article argues for a change of perspective that, by leveraging the conceptual framework of sociocybernetic…
Citizens’ engagement with popularization and with populist actors on Facebook
By considering the Facebook activity of 52 party leaders during national election campaigns held in 18 Western democracies that went to the polls between 2013 and 2017, we study users’ engagement with popularization and with populist leaders. Finally, we find that when populist leaders adopt popularization as a communicative style, they do not achieve any extra gain vis-a-vis non-populist actors
Outside the Bubble
The ways in which citizens experience politics on social media have overall positive implications for political participation and equality in Western democracies. This book investigates the relationship between political experiences on social media and institutional political participation based on custom-built post-election surveys on samples representative of Internet users in Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, Spain, the United K…
Political participation in the digital technology era
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
A Deliberative Democracy Framework for Analysing Trust in Journalists
In the current public sphere, the “deliberative model of democracy” may represent both the necessary benchmark and the best lens through which to view developments in the public debate. Democracy can never become really deliberative without the active participation of news media. The assumption of this article is that if news media are to disseminate knowledge, trust in them is crucial. This article examines an aspect neglected by studies on medi…
Controversies, Problematic Information, and Polarisation
Political trends around the world have drawn further scholarly attention to the study of polarisation, especially also as it is expressed and potentially deepened by public communication on digital and social media platforms. The very concept of polarisation itself, however, remains ill-defined especially in communication research, where it is often used as a mere buzzword without sufficient definition – even in spite of a wide range of conceptua…
Affective polarization between political communication and economic uncertainty during the Covid-19 pandemic in Italy
This article examines how individual changes in the frequency of political information consumption and discussion across different communication environments influenced affective polarization (AP) during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy. Using a three-wave panel survey of Italian citizens and fixed-effects models, we find that increased exposure to political information through legacy media and face-to-face discussions heightened …
Political science (16 works) · Law (15 works) · Politics (15 works) · Social Media and Politics (15 works) · Sociology (14 works) · Media studies (11 works) · Social media (11 works) · Law (9 works) · Public relations (9 works) · Media Studies and Communication (8 works)