Our researchers from the labs in Rome and Paris have just written an article based on the last Italian elections, showing how data science can help voters see through online campaigns. The article gives just an overview of a more detailed study we are leading together with the Enrico Fermi Research Centre and Sapienza-University of Rome and it focuses on the analysis we led on social media with the aim of offering interactive tools to improve public awareness of political communication.

Political parties are, indeed, increasingly investing in social media campaigns in an attempt to shape consensus. Refined analysis and complex techniques are now widely used in political communication campaigns. But the communication between parties and citizens, mediated by social media, is totally asymmetric. Voters usually receive information passively as targets of campaigns that aim to convince them, or to engage them with personalised content. Researchers and data scientists can help citizens to widen their perspectives and have a less passive role in political communication.

The article has been published on Nature Italy and you can continue reading it here.

Image: Infosphere by Fernando Cobelo for the Sony CSL Project. June 2022.