Increasing political polarization with disinformation: A comparative analysis of the European quality press

Abstract

Political polarization and information disorders are not new phenomena on the media agenda, but they have acquired considerable prominence in the wake of international events such as the election of Donald Trump. The present article seeks to help in understanding the interrelation of these concepts –disinformation and polarization– in the European quality press in recent years. Six newspapers (El Mundo, El País, Le Figaro, Le Monde, The Daily Telegraph and The Guardian) from three countries were selected on the basis of their quality, audience and representative character of their editorial lines between 2017 and late 2022, and a qualitative and quantitative frame analysis (n = 286) was carried out. Having observed all the definitions of polarization in the press, it was seen that party political alignment has the greatest presence in the international scenario, coming before the division of public opinion. In the sample, Spain has a prominent position, claiming to be a polarized pluralist country, as opposed to United Kingdom, which closely observes what happens in the United States, or France, where these phenomena have achieved less penetration. The conclusion is that political polarization is presented as a chronic problem caused by political actors who are not going to cease doing so, as opposed to information disorders, which are produced by certain specific international actors, such as Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump, and Jair Bolsonaro, who take advantage of communication flows on social media and the latter’s lack of regulation. This article suggests that the way to resolve or at least alleviate the problem is by defending quality information and public media, emphasizing citizen responsibility in the face of social media.