Who ‘likes’ populists? Characteristics of adolescents following right-wing populist actors on Facebook

Abstract

Past research has primarily focused on the positive potential of Social Network Sites (SNS) for democratic citizenship. However, SNS have also become key territories for right-wing populist actors (RWPA). Yet we almost completely lack research on adolescents’ use of SNS in the context of political populism. In this study, we draw a profile of adolescents who follow RWPA on Facebook incorporating three key predictors: political trust, personality traits as measured by the Big Five, as well as motivations to use SNS. A paper–pencil survey (N = 294) of 15–20-year-old school students was implemented. In line with hypotheses, we found that followers of RWPA scored low on political trust, informational motivations to use SNS, and the personality trait openness, but scored high on extraversion and participatory motivations to use SNS. In demographic terms, we found some evidence that lower educated and male students were more likely to follow RWPA. The important role of cognitive engagement with political information for the quality of participation on SNS is discussed.