Sources of knowledge about Brexit and the assessment of information activities undertaken by the Polish and British authorities among Poles living in the United Kingdom

Abstract

The background of the problem analysed in the article is Brexit and its mediatization, consisting of an attempt to shape social reality through the media. The UK’s decision to leave the EU was an important issue for Polish migrants in the UK. This community is an important research field because it is one of Europe’s largest and most active. The reason for undertaking the research was the importance of the impact of information on the decisions of individuals and the diverse policies and information activities of Polish and British authorities. The article aims to determine the sources of knowledge about Brexit and to analyse the assessment of information activities carried out by Polish and British authorities in the opinion of Poles living in the United Kingdom. A quantitative sociological study was conducted in September and October 2019 using a survey questionnaire based on a deliberately selected sample of 620 Poles living in London, Oxford and Swindon. These cities differ in terms of social structure, living conditions and standards, and the nature of the work undertaken by migrants from Poland. The procedure of comparing means (ANOVA) is used in the statistical analysis. It was found that Polish information activities were more often negatively assessed than British ones, and that both media and non-media sources of knowledge influenced this assessment.