Emotions as political tools: political advertising in the Spanish 2023 electoral campaign
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Abstract
The study of emotions has gained relevance in political communication, especially their role in electoral campaigns. This article analyzes the use of emotions by political parties in Spain’s general election of July 23, 2023. The aim is to verify whether the hypotheses derived from laboratory studies and campaigns in other countries were fulfilled in the Spanish context. A qualitative content analysis of the 112 electoral spots published by political parties with national presence and parliamentary representation on their main social networks (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube) was carried out. Results show that emotions were present in 107 of the 112 spots. In them, pride and anger were the most common appeal, while fear played a secondary role. Likewise, differences were found between the use of emotions by the different parties and a significant relationship was observed between the emotion appealed to and the protagonist of the spot. The hypotheses were largely fulfilled in the Spanish context, although with certain limitations. In addition, the results show relevant trends in the use of emotions by political parties and show how elections and electoral campaigns increase polarization.
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