Abstract

ARUGUETE, NATALIA  and  CALVO, ERNESTO. COVID19 in Argentina: Party polarization, media frames, and risk aversion. Revista SAAP [online]. 2020, vol.14, n.2, pp.280-310. ISSN 1853-1970.  http://dx.doi.org/10.46468/rsaap.14.2.a2.

Abstract

What is the effect of political preferences on perceived health and job risks? What is the effect of different media frames in the delivery of political messages? In this article, we answer to both questions using a conjoint experiment that randomly rotates frame elements of the health response to COVID19 (author, political message, images, acceptance, and user support), to identify the likelihood that messages will be shared. Results show two distinct effects. First, messages that are negative and polarizing reduce the rate of propagation among users exposed to the treatment, activating partisan identities. Second, we show that perceptions of risk, and the responses in regards to COVID19, align with the party positions and the public policy expressed by the users’ parties. The end goal of this article is to understand how distinct media frames activate partisan identities and achieve narratives that improve on the success of the public policies that ensure social distancing in the context of the COVID19 pandemic.

Keywords : COVID19; Twitter; Media Frames; Party identity; affective polarization.