Beyond mediatization: platformization and the hyper-mediatization of politics

This article presents the concept of hyper-mediatization of politics as a domain-specific refinement of mediatization theory within platformization studies. It argues that digital platforms no longer merely intensify media influence but reorder how political communication and information are produced, distributed, and consumed. Defined as a layered, second-order process, hyper-mediatization unfolds across infrastructural, procedural, and symbolic levels, embedding digital logics—algorithmic curation, data extraction, emotional resonance, modularity, and monetization—into political communication. Hyper-mediatization narrows the analytical lens to politics, clarifying how platform capitalism reconfigures political visibility, autonomy, and participation. Revisiting Strömbäck and Esser’s four dimensions of mediatization of politics, this article shows their transformation under platform dependence and hyper-mediatization. It proposes the concept as a testable hypothesis, open to comparison across media systems, political regimes, and regulatory contexts. By bridging institutionalist and constructivist approaches, it refines mediatization theory, providing a precise, context-sensitive model for analyzing conditions of political communication under platformization.