The power of mass media in the German civil society

• Main Author: Alicia‑Georgiana Zalupca
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Facultatea de Stiinte Politice, SNSPA 2016-12-01
• Series: Sfera Politicii
• Subjects: mass media; social media; Facebook; German civil society; political party; AfD; regional elections
• Online Access: http://www.sferapoliticii.ro/sfera/188/art06-Zalupca.php

Mass media is playing a significant role in influencing people’s mind and determining the vote’s preference of each single individual. Nowadays, mass media has become an essential part in setting up the public’s agenda. We are living in a social media era that is being governed by Facebook and Twitter. Facebook had played a key role in Germany’s society in the last year, since September 2015, by helping to increase public awareness or to collect opinions and information, and also to influence the attitude of the people towards electing the Eurosceptic political party, Alternative for Germany (AfD). The results of the regional elections in Germany from March 2016 had been strongly influenced by the party’s intense activities on Facebook. It may be said that the electoral campaign of AfD had completely taken place on Facebook, a social media channel where people and the party itself dare to speak up their mind without being afraid that their opinion could be censorship. This article is about to describe the role that the social media channel, Facebook, had had in choosing AfD as main winner of the German regional elections.