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Social network analysis reveals pronounced ideological asymmetry in link-sharing on X during European elections, highlighting growing digital media fragmentation across political groups.
The fragmentation of digital public spheres poses challenges to European democracies by weakening shared communicative ground. One way this fragmentation becomes visible on social media is through ideological asymmetries in link-sharing, as different communities circulate different types of media sources. Using social network analysis, this study investigated ideological asymmetries in link-sharing practices on X during the 2019 and 2024 European election campaigns in Slovenia. The findings reveal a consistent divergence in media repertoires across ideological communities: right-wing users predominantly share partisan sources, whereas left-wing users prefer mainstream outlets and exhibit more varied media repertoires. This asymmetry is visible in both elections and becomes more pronounced in 2024. Actor-type analysis shows that the asymmetry is not confined to elite actors but is also reproduced through citizen behaviour. The results are interpreted through the lens of strategic communication, with observed patterns reflecting broader ideological ecosystems and platform affordances. The study documents the intensification of ideological asymmetry; offers comparative insights into shifts in media engagement across two European Parliament elections; and highlights the strategic role of partisan media ecosystems in shaping online public discourse, contributing to broader debates on the fragmentation of European public spheres.
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Luka Jesenšek (2026) studied this question.
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