Visual Political Communication on Instagram: A Case Study of Lithuanian Politicians and Political Parties

• In Event: Media and Political Communication

Abstract

Instagram is widely used for political communication, as it allows politicians and political organizations to reach a large and diverse audience with visual content. The platform provides opportunities for politicians to present themselves in a favorable light, share their views and policies, and engage with their constituents through comments and direct messages. Additionally, Instagram allows political campaigns to target specific demographics with sponsored posts and advertisements. However, the platform also faces criticism for the spread of misinformation and propaganda, as well as potential negative impacts on mental health and privacy.
This paper presents a comparative quantitative content analysis (N=1324) of Instagram messages from political parties and political leaders during 2020 Lithuanian Parliament election campaign. The aim of the paper is to explore the potential of Instagram platform exploration for political communication and campaigning purposes. Specifically, the paper explore whether the political parties and politicians in Lithuania use the opportunities offered by Instagram and whether they use it as another traditional one-way communication channel. This work contributes to increase the knowledge about the strategic use of Instagram for political campaigning purposes.

Short Bio

Prof. Andrius Šuminas (Ph.D.) currently holds a professor position at the Vilnius University, Faculty of Communication (Lithuania). During 2015-2017 he was employed at Warsaw University, Faculty of Journalism, Information and Book Studies (Poland). In 2010-2021 he was editor-in-chief of peer-review journal Parliamentary Studies (publisher Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania). Currently, he is an active member of EU COST Action 18230 INDCOR Interactive Narrative Design for Complexity Representations. His main research areas are communication theories, political communication, publishing, interactive networking and social media.

Author

• Andrius Šuminas, Vilnius University