Internet Effects in Times of Political Crisis: Online Newsgathering and Attitudes toward the European Union.

ABSTRACT: This paper evaluates the influence of online news consumption on attitudes toward the European Union in a context of protracted economic crisis. Using data from the 2011 Irish National Election Study, we combine location-specific information on broadband availability with respondent geo-location data, which facilitates causal inference about the effects of online news consumption via instrumental variable models. Results show that Irish citizens who source political information online are more prone to blame the EU for the poor state of the economy than those who do not. There is evidence of preference reinforcement among those with negative predispositions toward the EU, but not among pro-EU citizens. We complement this analysis with a study of voting behavior in the European Fiscal Compa

SUBMITTER: Baccini L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4888570 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature