Środkowoeuropejskie Studia Polityczne, Jun 15, 2022
There was found just one preference for alternative or controversial sources that Babiš designate... more There was found just one preference for alternative or controversial sources that Babiš designated as permanently liked media sources on FB. Surprisingly, Babiš did not even "like" permanently any of those media that he purchased a few years earlier and put into the governance of a special foundation while acting like a politician. Babiš preferred quality economic business magazines and journals. He liked only one media source that could be considered alternative media -Internet TV XTV. However, not even this online TV can be seen as a traditional alternative/disinformation medium, but rather as a borderline case. Andrej Babiš on FB also liked pages of NGOs, cultural institutions, and some other rather unusual non-political activities.
This study explored the personal-ideological affiliation of selected populist leaders to alternat... more This study explored the personal-ideological affiliation of selected populist leaders to alternative media based on their permanent “liking” on Facebook. It was found that the assumption that populist leaders “like” (both figuratively and literally) alternative media is incorrect. Boris Kollár, Speaker of the Parliament and one of the most active politicians on Facebook, did not use the button “like” at all, while Igor Matovič, then the Prime Minister of Slovakia, selected and “liked” some pages, but he preferred quality mainstream liberal news media. The electoral system’s specifics may help explain why populist politicians play a key role in their movements and why social media are so helpful for them in this process.
This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation ... more This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 822590. Any dissemination of results here presented reflects only the consortium's view. The Agency is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.
Populism is the “40 is the new 30” of political research, buzzing for the last two decades with w... more Populism is the “40 is the new 30” of political research, buzzing for the last two decades with what seems as an unfading energy. A lot of attention has been paid to defining the phenomena and outlining its general features. Significantly less notice has been paid to political parties. Even less work has been done on comparative party populism in contemporary Europe, one that would take into consideration social, political and historical aspects. This paper fills this void. Examining sixteen European populist parties and movements across the continent, we argue that while all adhere to the standard populist framework, there is not one but four populisms in contemporary Europe. We demonstrate our argument by positioning the case selection against the following dichotomies: exclusionary v. inclusionary populism, authoritarian v. non-authoritarian populism, strong nativist v. weak nativist populism, and radical democratic v. conspiratorial populism. Based on these variables, we introdu...
This is an exploratory study of populist political movement Sme rodina – Boris Kollár (We Are a F... more This is an exploratory study of populist political movement Sme rodina – Boris Kollár (We Are a Family – Boris Kollár, since November 2019 only Sme rodina). The paper first locates this movement into a lose concept/sui generis family of political parties (the niche party), arguing in contrast to some typologies that this is primarily protest populist party presenting some niche issues, and only secondarily, an entrepreneurial party. The paper also answers the question why this party is considered as being populist by many political and non-political actors and analysts. The paper also suggests that there is actually non-existent, but assumed direct correlation between the support for this party and the decline in the standard of living, as sometimes presented in public discourse. In contrast, it is suggested here that there may be stronger links between relative poverty, feeling of being abandoned by political elites/parties, and low educational levels. Moreover, there played an imp...
amending Directive 2010/13/EU on the coordination of certain provisions laid down by law, regulat... more amending Directive 2010/13/EU on the coordination of certain provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative action in Member States concerning the provision of audiovisual media services (Audiovisual Media Services Directive) in view of changing market realities,
Performance analysis of fact-checking organizations and initiatives in Europe: A critical overview of online platforms fighting fake news
This study represents the first work integrating theory and practice from the field of fact-check... more This study represents the first work integrating theory and practice from the field of fact-checking and combating fake news into a novel methodology for performance analysis of fact-checking organizations. It provides important insights into the efficiency and effectiveness of European fact-checking organizations. However, it is relevant for any fact-checking organization across the Globe. The methodology includes the development of a scheme of performance indicators and the definition of a taxonomy of fact-checking systems, supported by an existing conceptual framework. The practical part consists of piloting of the methodology into a set of implemented and working online platforms. The results from the study reveal huge space for improvements of the workflows and the functionality of fact-checkers and lead to the extraction of a set of recommendations in this regard.
This is a study of suggested approaches to social media regulation based on an exploratory method... more This is a study of suggested approaches to social media regulation based on an exploratory methodological approach. Its first aim is to provide an overview of the global and local debates and the main arguments and concerns, and second, to systematise this in order to construct taxonomies. Despite its methodological limitations, the study provides new insights into this very relevant global and local policy debate. We found that there are trends in regulatory policymaking towards both innovative and radical approaches but also towards approaches of copying broadcast media regulation to the sphere of social media. In contrast, traditional selfand co-regulatory approaches seem to have been, by and large, abandoned as the preferred regulatory approaches. The study discusses these regulatory approaches as presented in global and selected local, mostly European and US discourses in three analytical groups based on the intensity of suggested regulatory
The key political roles of the media include providing information, checking the accountability o... more The key political roles of the media include providing information, checking the accountability of public figures and authorities, and creating a space for public debate. Among these roles, (un)covering corruption in its various forms is certainly a great task which may also be of great interest for the media. Reporting on occurrences of corruption or the suspicion of it conforms to preferred media policy, i.e., a hunt for negativity (good news is no news), and the media’s role as a moral lighthouse. Indeed, the free media are considered as a key factor in promoting good governance and controlling corruption, usually in co-ordination with civil society (MungiuPippidi, 2006;1 Brunetti & Weder, 2003;2 The World Bank, 1997;3 Mungiu-Pippidi & Kukutschka, 2013;4 Sowunmi et al, 2010;5 Stapenhurst, 2000),6 although Camaj7
Scientific objective of this paper is to analyse how advanced are Artificial Intelligence (AI) to... more Scientific objective of this paper is to analyse how advanced are Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to fight successfully information disorder. More specifically, this is an overview and ranking on existing tools based on AI in this specific area. Research method is comparative analytics. We compare the most developed and publicly available fake-news detecting and fact-checking AI based solutions (intelligent machines). The comparison is based on two key parameters: accuracy and comprehensiveness. Results and conclusions: Analyse show that a third of the examined AI systems are, in terms of comprehensiveness, in the top category, while the majority are in the medium category. As far as accuracy is concerned, very few AI machine developers are interested in providing further details about their products and functionalities for studies such as ours which raises suspicions about their actual performance. Surprisingly, one of the most discussed AI systems among EU leaders seems to actu...
The study focuses on two Slovak corruption cases, both well-documented and of similar social rele... more The study focuses on two Slovak corruption cases, both well-documented and of similar social relevance, of which one did not receive any cross-media coverage. Moreover, the case of large-scale bribery was rather under-hyped in comparison to other major corruption scandals occurring in the country. The case of cronyism formed a typical example of extremely poor inter-media coverage of highly unfair and politicised cronyism. Through these cases, especially in the one in which the media failed to stimulate the creation of a full-blown scandal, the study further analyses the criteria and circumstances that determine the worthiness of a case for wide media coverage. The study on Slovakia is framed within theories of scandalous reporting and the theory of agenda setting and inter-media agenda setting role of the media, and supported by quantitative analysis of actual media coverage of the bribery case.
This article discusses an instance of case-specific self-inflicted partial media capture, acknowl... more This article discusses an instance of case-specific self-inflicted partial media capture, acknowledging the chilling effect of legislation consistent with partial state capture. In general, this case illustrates the ethical and legal dilemmas in the reporting of a specific type of large-scale corruption in the media, which involves the denial of all accusations by most sources and a controversial stand by state authorities and politicians on the issue, forcing the media to primarily report rumors or contradictory claims and denials (after controversial files regarding the corruption were made public anonymously on the internet) or desist from reporting altogether (before the files were made public on the internet, due to possible libel threats). The findings question the normative expectations expressed in democratic theory related to the role of the media as a watchdog, in the specific context of large-scale corruption in post-communist states. Moreover, this paper suggests the need to reexamine the methodological aspects of quantitative content analysis of media coverage of corruption. This paper has also attempted to update the emerging theory on media capture with the term partial case-specific media capture.
This case study reports about the collusion scandal behind the widespread wiretapping operations ... more This case study reports about the collusion scandal behind the widespread wiretapping operations of various journalists. The report, however, focuses mainly on one part of the affair, namely the clear collusion between a journalist from the daily Pravda, and a top politician-a Member of Parliament, whose conversations were also recorded. MP Robert Kaliňák was apparently trying to persuade the reporter Vanda Vavrová to publish discrediting material about his political rival. The study thus largely examines the media's role in politics and ethical issues resulting from trespass of the journalistic agency for objective and impartial reporting. Moreover, initial coverage of this affair by the selected media is analysed throughout the study to pinpoint the role of Slovak journalists/media while facing the controversial behaviour of one of their peers. It was found that the media actually underplayed the collusion story and focused their attention mostly on the wiretapping affair, strongly condemning the actions by the state authorities. Ironically, a few years later it was proved that the wiretapping of journalists (in contrast to other persons and institutions) was both legal and justified. Moreover, the media ignored the possible political and criminal corruption issues behind the double scandal.
Středoevropské politické studie Central European Political Studies Review, 2018
The article discusses the Gorilla case, an officially still-contested partial state capture by a ... more The article discusses the Gorilla case, an officially still-contested partial state capture by a single local oligarchic group, in line with the (partial) Elite Cartels corruption pattern in Slovakia. Due to the manner in which evidence, although considered unofficial, was made available, this case illustrates secret political and business processes during partial state capture. The initial absence of the case in public, political, and academic discourses, suggests that state capture can be present and operate undetected for a long time. This study also shows that in-depth analysis of the Gorilla case was avoided by both domestic and international political scientists, despite its paramount practical and theoretical importance. This, in turn, reflects a methodological capture of political science. Consequently, this article disentangles the complexities of the Gorilla case and lays down the foundation for further studies. Specifically, it highlights the need for more careful researc...
Populism is one of the most controversial and fuzziest terms used in the social, and more specifi... more Populism is one of the most controversial and fuzziest terms used in the social, and more specifically, political sciences. The term populism was used for the first time in the USA at the end of 19 century to describe a form of political language and a form of political participation (populist movement) according to Urbinati (1998, 110) specific but consistent with democracy. The majority of contemporary analysts of populism agree that the term populism is highly ambivalent, both in theory and in practice. Some have even suggested that the term not be used in the social sciences (see De la Torre, 1992, 387). Nevertheless, the term populism is used in the social sciences with increasing frequency. However, we can find the term 'populism' being used in academic texts without ever being defined (see e.g. Boulanger 1999). This is also especially prevalent in
This is a study of suggested approaches to social media regulation based on an exploratory method... more This is a study of suggested approaches to social media regulation based on an exploratory methodological approach. Its first aim is to provide an overview of the global and local debates and the main arguments and concerns, and second, to systematise this in order to construct taxonomies. Despite its methodological limitations, the study provides new insights into this very relevant global and local policy debate. We found that there are trends in regulatory policymaking towards both innovative and radical approaches but also towards approaches of copying broadcast media regulation to the sphere of social media. In contrast, traditional self-and co-regulatory approaches seem to have been, by and large, abandoned as the preferred regulatory approaches. The study discusses these regulatory approaches as presented in global and selected local, mostly European and US discourses in three analytical groups based on the intensity of suggested regulatory intervention.
We were asked to explore three policy fields with focus on these normative, partly political scie... more We were asked to explore three policy fields with focus on these normative, partly political science based indicators: Policy Content: a) Ideological heterogeneity and chameleonic flexibility, b) heterodox policy elements with frequent policy innovations challenging mainstream policy paradigms, c) reflecting majoritarian preferences, d) hostility against unpopular minorities and radical and paradigmatic policy reforms. Policy Process: (a) Circumventing established institutions, downplaying veto players, (b) Limiting participation of technocratic policy experts, opposition parties and civil society actors, (c) Direct communication with the electorate. Policy Discourse: (a) Extensive use of discursive governance, (b) Tabloid, highly emotional communication style, recurrent crisis framing and (c) Dominance of Manichean discourses.
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Papers by Andrej Skolkay
Policy Content: a) Ideological heterogeneity and chameleonic flexibility, b) heterodox policy elements with frequent policy innovations challenging mainstream policy paradigms,
c) reflecting majoritarian preferences, d) hostility against unpopular minorities and radical and paradigmatic policy reforms.
Policy Process: (a) Circumventing established institutions, downplaying veto players, (b) Limiting participation of technocratic policy experts, opposition parties and civil society actors, (c) Direct communication with the electorate.
Policy Discourse: (a) Extensive use of discursive governance, (b) Tabloid, highly emotional communication style, recurrent crisis framing and (c) Dominance of Manichean discourses.