Alena Macková
Biographic Data
| ID | 354586 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Alena Macková |
| GIVEN NAMES | Alena |
| FAMILY NAME | Macková |
| SIGNATURE | MACKOVÁ A |
| AFFILIATIONS | Masaryk University |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-5967-5166 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 20 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 17 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 20 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2014 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Constructing representation
This study investigates contemporary forms of political representation by analyzing the Facebook communication of 110 political leaders from eight European countries during both national and 2024 European Parliament (EP) election campaigns. Based on constructivist theories of representation, we introduce the concept of ‘representational style’, defined as the specific combination of six communicative elements: policy focus, personalized communica…
The consequences of alternative media and disinformation-prone alternative media consumption on political beliefs over the course of the Covid-19 pandemic
With growing distrust in mainstream media, citizens often turn to alternative sources to learn about socio-political events. There has been extensive research on how such media diets influence political attitudes and engagement. However, alternative media have served as an umbrella term for a variety of sources with various ideological leanings as well as journalistic standards. In this study, we introduce the distinction between Alternative Medi…
Faces of Europe
Social media platforms have become central arenas for election campaigning, pushing political actors to adapt to their attention‐driven logics. One prominent strategy is visual personalization, reflecting the platforms’ person‐centered, image‐driven design. This study offers the first large‐scale, cross‐national analysis of how political parties across 23 EU countries strategically employed two dimensions of visual personalization—individualizati…
When Populism Targets Europe
Criticism of the EU has become a common feature of political communication in Central and Eastern Europe and it is often tied to broader concerns about democratic erosion and distrust in institutions. This study investigates how anti-EU rhetoric was employed on Facebook by political actors in the Visegrád countries (Czechia, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia) during the 2024 European Parliament elections and how it relates to the populist style of co…
The role of the media in conspiracy thinking
Doing What Is Right
Resilience to disinformation on social media relies on the user's ability to critically assess disinformation and even counter it. Active users, who, with their actions, can curate the information environment of others, can play a crucial role in stopping the dissemination of disinformation. Their activities, such as correcting or reporting, in the decentralized social media environment may prove more effective than institutional responses. Consi…
The Relationship Between Topics, Negativity, and User Engagement in Election Campaigns on Facebook
Negativity is a common feature of current online political communication during elections. Previous studies on negativity and its impact on user engagement focused mainly on Western European countries. Considering the political particularities of the Central and Eastern European countries, the present study focused on Czechia, Hungary, Lithuania, the Republic of Moldova, and Romania, where national election campaigns took place from 2020 to 2022.…
Trust and Political Attitudes of Public Service Media Audiences in a Polarized Society
The paper addresses the role of Czech public service television in polarized society. The research on the audiences of public service media (PSM) is particularly salient concerning specific role; however, it is increasingly questioned in a fragmented and polarized environment. The paper builds on data from 27 semi-structured interviews and a survey conducted in 2019-20 (N=3251). While for some, Czech television is a trustworthy medium protecting …
How Does the “Us” versus “Them” Polarization Work? Capturing Political Antagonism with the Political Antagonism Scale
This article introduces and validates a Political Antagonism Scale (PAS) aimed at capturing politically motivated antagonism among people in survey research. Recent trends indicate a rise in politically motivated polarization across various countries. This polarization often transcends mere ideological distance, fostering an identity-based “Us” versus “Them” political perspective. Consequently, this transforms the traditional agonistic political …
Barriers to Participation in Polarized Online Discussions About Covid-19 and the Russo-Ukrainian War
Even though social networking sites create a unique online public space for the exchange of opinions, only a small share of citizens participate in online discussions. Moreover, research has depicted current online discussions as highly uncivil, hostile, and polarized, and the number of heated discussions has escalated in the last two years because of health, social, and security crises. This study investigates the perceived barriers to participa…
Incivility and Intolerance in Covid-19 Discussions on Facebook
The COVID-19 pandemic has fueled heated discussions and intensified polarization in the exchange of opinions. Due to strict government restrictions, including a hard lockdown, much of this debate took place online. In this study, we examine how Czechs engaged in political discussions on Facebook during the pandemic. This research looks into the occurrence of incivility and intolerance and the similarities/contrasts with normatively desirable disc…
One way or another? Discussion disagreement and attitudinal homogeneity on social networking sites as pathways to polarization in Czechia
This study focuses on social networking sites and their role in partisan-based affective polarization and political antagonism. We examine the relationship by testing variables that indicate selective exposure to counter-attitudinal and pro-attitudinal information. The results from Czech survey data (n = 2,792) collected in 2020 show a positive relationship between both perceived discussion disagreement and attitudinal homogeneity of the network …
Exploring the Audience of Alternative News Media
This study explores the audiences of Czech alternative news media (ANM) and seeks the predictors for its use. It examines the relationship between ANM usage and trust in mainstream media, media reflexivity, political interest, political attitudes that indicate the liberal-conservative divide, and political antagonism. Adopting an audience-centered approach, the study identifies ANM users through their self-identification based on perceived ANM ne…
Beyond stealing
In the context of constantly changing media communication and the behavior of different actors engaging it, our paper seeks to map current transformations and adaptations to changes within Czech audiences with a special interest in their media routines and strategies for choosing media sources. As it still remains rather unclear how the post-televisual audience members decide regarding content sources, platforms or services, our main aim is to di…
Campaign like a girl? Gender and communication on social networking sites in the Czech Parliamentary election
This study focuses on the communication styles of male and female candidates on Facebook during the 2017 parliamentary election campaign in the Czech Republic. It tests the assumption that female candidates engage in a more personal and interactive style of communication than male candidates. The Czech Republic provides a hard test of this hypothesis given that the electoral system poses weak incentives for candidates to run personal campaigns an…
The vaccination debate in the 'post-truth' era
This paper analyses the contemporary public debate about vaccination, and medical knowledge more broadly, in the context of social media. The study is focused on the massive online debate prompted by the Facebook status of the digital celebrity Mark Zuckerberg, who posted a picture of his two-month-old daughter, accompanied by a comment: 'Doctor's visit - time for vaccines!' Carrying out a qualitative analysis on a sample of 650 comments and repl…
Hybrid politics
‘Matters are often more complex than they appear’ (2016, p. 185). This is the opening sentence of the Conclusion in the book Hybrid politics: media and participation authored by Laura Iannelli, a l
Interpreting hashtag politics
Interpreting hashtag politics: policy ideas in an era of social media, by Stephen Jeffares." Critical Policy Studies, 10(1), pp. 129–130
Euroscepticism the Czech way
Research on political speeches is commonly undertaken in countries where the president has a powerful position, typically in the United States. In the Czech Republic, too, political speeches are an important instrument for influencing public opinion. Meanwhile, few politicians are so known for their fiercely held opinions on the European Union as former President of the Czech Republic Václav Klaus; his speeches about the European Union are the su…
‘Žít Brno’
The paper presents a case study of the Czech online activist group Žít Brno. The group that challenges local representatives and employs tactics of political satire, parody and culture jamming, evolved from a spontaneous one-off event to an ongoing political project and eventually became an institutionalized political actor. The case study, based on interviews with group members, content analysis of the project website, longitudinal observation o…
The vaccination debate in the 'post-truth' era
This paper analyses the contemporary public debate about vaccination, and medical knowledge more broadly, in the context of social media. The study is focused on the massive online debate prompted by the Facebook status of the digital celebrity Mark Zuckerberg, who posted a picture of his two-month-old daughter, accompanied by a comment: 'Doctor's visit - time for vaccines!' Carrying out a qualitative analysis on a sample of 650 comments and repl…
Trust and Political Attitudes of Public Service Media Audiences in a Polarized Society
The paper addresses the role of Czech public service television in polarized society. The research on the audiences of public service media (PSM) is particularly salient concerning specific role; however, it is increasingly questioned in a fragmented and polarized environment. The paper builds on data from 27 semi-structured interviews and a survey conducted in 2019-20 (N=3251). While for some, Czech television is a trustworthy medium protecting …
How Does the “Us” versus “Them” Polarization Work? Capturing Political Antagonism with the Political Antagonism Scale
This article introduces and validates a Political Antagonism Scale (PAS) aimed at capturing politically motivated antagonism among people in survey research. Recent trends indicate a rise in politically motivated polarization across various countries. This polarization often transcends mere ideological distance, fostering an identity-based “Us” versus “Them” political perspective. Consequently, this transforms the traditional agonistic political …
Exploring the Audience of Alternative News Media
This study explores the audiences of Czech alternative news media (ANM) and seeks the predictors for its use. It examines the relationship between ANM usage and trust in mainstream media, media reflexivity, political interest, political attitudes that indicate the liberal-conservative divide, and political antagonism. Adopting an audience-centered approach, the study identifies ANM users through their self-identification based on perceived ANM ne…
One way or another? Discussion disagreement and attitudinal homogeneity on social networking sites as pathways to polarization in Czechia
This study focuses on social networking sites and their role in partisan-based affective polarization and political antagonism. We examine the relationship by testing variables that indicate selective exposure to counter-attitudinal and pro-attitudinal information. The results from Czech survey data (n = 2,792) collected in 2020 show a positive relationship between both perceived discussion disagreement and attitudinal homogeneity of the network …
Euroscepticism the Czech way
Research on political speeches is commonly undertaken in countries where the president has a powerful position, typically in the United States. In the Czech Republic, too, political speeches are an important instrument for influencing public opinion. Meanwhile, few politicians are so known for their fiercely held opinions on the European Union as former President of the Czech Republic Václav Klaus; his speeches about the European Union are the su…
‘Žít Brno’
The paper presents a case study of the Czech online activist group Žít Brno. The group that challenges local representatives and employs tactics of political satire, parody and culture jamming, evolved from a spontaneous one-off event to an ongoing political project and eventually became an institutionalized political actor. The case study, based on interviews with group members, content analysis of the project website, longitudinal observation o…
Euroscepticism the Czech way
Research on political speeches is commonly undertaken in countries where the president has a powerful position, typically in the United States. In the Czech Republic, too, political speeches are an important instrument for influencing public opinion. Meanwhile, few politicians are so known for their fiercely held opinions on the European Union as former President of the Czech Republic Václav Klaus; his speeches about the European Union are the su…
Interpreting hashtag politics
Interpreting hashtag politics: policy ideas in an era of social media, by Stephen Jeffares." Critical Policy Studies, 10(1), pp. 129–130
Hybrid politics
‘Matters are often more complex than they appear’ (2016, p. 185). This is the opening sentence of the Conclusion in the book Hybrid politics: media and participation authored by Laura Iannelli, a l
The vaccination debate in the 'post-truth' era
This paper analyses the contemporary public debate about vaccination, and medical knowledge more broadly, in the context of social media. The study is focused on the massive online debate prompted by the Facebook status of the digital celebrity Mark Zuckerberg, who posted a picture of his two-month-old daughter, accompanied by a comment: 'Doctor's visit - time for vaccines!' Carrying out a qualitative analysis on a sample of 650 comments and repl…
Campaign like a girl? Gender and communication on social networking sites in the Czech Parliamentary election
This study focuses on the communication styles of male and female candidates on Facebook during the 2017 parliamentary election campaign in the Czech Republic. It tests the assumption that female candidates engage in a more personal and interactive style of communication than male candidates. The Czech Republic provides a hard test of this hypothesis given that the electoral system poses weak incentives for candidates to run personal campaigns an…
Barriers to Participation in Polarized Online Discussions About Covid-19 and the Russo-Ukrainian War
Even though social networking sites create a unique online public space for the exchange of opinions, only a small share of citizens participate in online discussions. Moreover, research has depicted current online discussions as highly uncivil, hostile, and polarized, and the number of heated discussions has escalated in the last two years because of health, social, and security crises. This study investigates the perceived barriers to participa…
Incivility and Intolerance in Covid-19 Discussions on Facebook
The COVID-19 pandemic has fueled heated discussions and intensified polarization in the exchange of opinions. Due to strict government restrictions, including a hard lockdown, much of this debate took place online. In this study, we examine how Czechs engaged in political discussions on Facebook during the pandemic. This research looks into the occurrence of incivility and intolerance and the similarities/contrasts with normatively desirable disc…
One way or another? Discussion disagreement and attitudinal homogeneity on social networking sites as pathways to polarization in Czechia
This study focuses on social networking sites and their role in partisan-based affective polarization and political antagonism. We examine the relationship by testing variables that indicate selective exposure to counter-attitudinal and pro-attitudinal information. The results from Czech survey data (n = 2,792) collected in 2020 show a positive relationship between both perceived discussion disagreement and attitudinal homogeneity of the network …
Exploring the Audience of Alternative News Media
This study explores the audiences of Czech alternative news media (ANM) and seeks the predictors for its use. It examines the relationship between ANM usage and trust in mainstream media, media reflexivity, political interest, political attitudes that indicate the liberal-conservative divide, and political antagonism. Adopting an audience-centered approach, the study identifies ANM users through their self-identification based on perceived ANM ne…
Beyond stealing
In the context of constantly changing media communication and the behavior of different actors engaging it, our paper seeks to map current transformations and adaptations to changes within Czech audiences with a special interest in their media routines and strategies for choosing media sources. As it still remains rather unclear how the post-televisual audience members decide regarding content sources, platforms or services, our main aim is to di…
The Relationship Between Topics, Negativity, and User Engagement in Election Campaigns on Facebook
Negativity is a common feature of current online political communication during elections. Previous studies on negativity and its impact on user engagement focused mainly on Western European countries. Considering the political particularities of the Central and Eastern European countries, the present study focused on Czechia, Hungary, Lithuania, the Republic of Moldova, and Romania, where national election campaigns took place from 2020 to 2022.…
Trust and Political Attitudes of Public Service Media Audiences in a Polarized Society
The paper addresses the role of Czech public service television in polarized society. The research on the audiences of public service media (PSM) is particularly salient concerning specific role; however, it is increasingly questioned in a fragmented and polarized environment. The paper builds on data from 27 semi-structured interviews and a survey conducted in 2019-20 (N=3251). While for some, Czech television is a trustworthy medium protecting …
How Does the “Us” versus “Them” Polarization Work? Capturing Political Antagonism with the Political Antagonism Scale
This article introduces and validates a Political Antagonism Scale (PAS) aimed at capturing politically motivated antagonism among people in survey research. Recent trends indicate a rise in politically motivated polarization across various countries. This polarization often transcends mere ideological distance, fostering an identity-based “Us” versus “Them” political perspective. Consequently, this transforms the traditional agonistic political …
When Populism Targets Europe
Criticism of the EU has become a common feature of political communication in Central and Eastern Europe and it is often tied to broader concerns about democratic erosion and distrust in institutions. This study investigates how anti-EU rhetoric was employed on Facebook by political actors in the Visegrád countries (Czechia, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia) during the 2024 European Parliament elections and how it relates to the populist style of co…
The role of the media in conspiracy thinking
Doing What Is Right
Resilience to disinformation on social media relies on the user's ability to critically assess disinformation and even counter it. Active users, who, with their actions, can curate the information environment of others, can play a crucial role in stopping the dissemination of disinformation. Their activities, such as correcting or reporting, in the decentralized social media environment may prove more effective than institutional responses. Consi…
Constructing representation
This study investigates contemporary forms of political representation by analyzing the Facebook communication of 110 political leaders from eight European countries during both national and 2024 European Parliament (EP) election campaigns. Based on constructivist theories of representation, we introduce the concept of ‘representational style’, defined as the specific combination of six communicative elements: policy focus, personalized communica…
The consequences of alternative media and disinformation-prone alternative media consumption on political beliefs over the course of the Covid-19 pandemic
With growing distrust in mainstream media, citizens often turn to alternative sources to learn about socio-political events. There has been extensive research on how such media diets influence political attitudes and engagement. However, alternative media have served as an umbrella term for a variety of sources with various ideological leanings as well as journalistic standards. In this study, we introduce the distinction between Alternative Medi…
Faces of Europe
Social media platforms have become central arenas for election campaigning, pushing political actors to adapt to their attention‐driven logics. One prominent strategy is visual personalization, reflecting the platforms’ person‐centered, image‐driven design. This study offers the first large‐scale, cross‐national analysis of how political parties across 23 EU countries strategically employed two dimensions of visual personalization—individualizati…
Political science (16 works) · Politics (16 works) · Social Media and Politics (15 works) · Law (14 works) · Sociology (14 works) · Public relations (9 works) · Czech (8 works) · Law (8 works) · Media studies (8 works) · Misinformation and Its Impacts (7 works)