European Public Sphere| Online News, Social Media and European Union Attitudes: A Multidimensional Analysis

Authors

  • Rachel R. Mourao University of Texas – Austin
  • Joseph Yoo The University of Texas at Austin
  • Stephanie Geise Universität Erfurt
  • Jose Andres Araiza The University of Texas at Austin
  • Danielle K. Kilgo The University of Texas at Austin
  • Victoria Y. Chen The University of Texas at Austin
  • Thomas Johnson The University of Texas at Austin

Keywords:

online news, social media, blogs, public opinion, European Union

Abstract

How do online news and social media use relate to public support for the European Union? To answer this question, this study compares the effect of institutional websites, news websites, online social networks, blogs, and video hosting websites on five important dimensions of public attitudes toward the EU: strengthening, performance, fear, efficacy, and utilitarianism. Cases were selected by choosing the samples from the largest country in each stage of EU enlargement: Germany, the United Kingdom, Greece, Sweden, the Czech Republic, and Romania. After controlling for demographic and political factors, results show that getting European news from blogs fosters negative attitudes toward the EU, whereas social network sites contribute to a positive view of the EU’s performance and support for further strengthening. In addition, the use of YouTube and news websites interacts with off-line discussion to enhance political effects.

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Published

2015-10-15

Issue

Vol. 9 (2015)

Section

Special Sections