Central European Journal of Communication

A ’Safe Space’ for Disagreement?

Márton Bene, Veronika Patkós — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0200

We investigate whether cross-cutting and mixed exposure to political information on social media is associated with users’ internal political efficacy using an online survey experiment. Existing research has demonstrated several benefits of cross-cutting exposure, but they have also shown its dark side. Mutz (2006) found that political ambivalence is significantly associated with cross-cutting talk as disagreement makes people more uncertain about their political views. However, it has been not investigated if cross-cutting exposure makes people more uncertain about their own political capacities to understand politics and meaningfully participate within it. Our research question is whether this detrimental effect on internal political efficacy can be detected on social media context. The findings show that participants’ internal political efficacy is not significantly shaped by the type of exposure. Consequently, cross-cutting exposure on social media can be seen a ‘safe space’ for political disagreement where the ‘dark side’ of cross-cutting exposure cannot prevail.

Who Shouts the Loudest?

Martina Novotná, Alena Macková, Lucie Čejková — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0200

Conflict-oriented behavior in the online environment is attracting increasing attention, mainly due to its widespread presence and the potential implications for shaping public opinion and attitudes. This study examines the factors that drive such behavior on social network sites and their potential implications for the online public sphere. The hierarchical binary logistic regression draws on data from a representative survey of Czech adult users of social network sites (N = 2,187; 55.3% female; mean age = 44.57, SD = 16.45), collected at the end of the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic (November–December 2020). The results indicate that conflict-oriented commenters, more likely to be less educated, younger men with low political interest, are highly active in online discussions driven by disagreement. Additionally, they are more likely than non-conflict-oriented commenters to unfriend others over differing opinions and express strong negativity toward opposing views. The study discusses implications for societal polarization and deliberative democracy.

Navigating Narratives

Dren Gërguri, Darren Lilleker — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0200

This paper examines individuals’ exposure to disinformation in Kosovo and how they judge its credibility. We investigated exposure to and belief in six of the most popular disinformation narratives through a survey of 600 respondents. The results show that trust in news media does not significantly influence disinformation belief, suggesting that cognitive and situational factors are more impactful. Although social media remains the main source of exposure, the source typically does not affect belief unless there are some high-salience political stories. Additionally, repeated exposure to a narrative increases the chance that it will be believed. Fact-checking and media literacy efforts have limited reach, as most respondents rarely verify information that aligns with their views. These findings highlight the need to improve media literacy and critical thinking education to help individuals become more discerning in how they evaluate information.

Mobilizing Distrust

Todd Nesbitt, Tess Slavíčková, Veronika Zavřelová — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0200

This article examines the persuasive function of subject headings in Czech-language disinformation chain emails, an understudied component of cross-platform disinformation in Central Europe. The study focuses on the first six months of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and analyses a corpus of email subject headings collected by the civic initiative (Czech Elves) Čeští Elfové. Drawing on critical discourse analysis, relevance theory, and presupposition theory, the article explores how subject headings establish relevance, mobilize shared assumptions, and encourage recipients to access and disseminate disinformation content. The analysis identifies recurring thematic frames centered on national victimhood, fear of the “other”, distrust of political and media institutions, and the construction of an imagined community of resistance. Linguistic and typographic strategies, including informal address, hyperbolic punctuation, and directive speech acts, presuppose ideological alignment and familiarity with alternative information networks. The findings demonstrate how highly condensed subject headings function as effective ideological triggers within email-based disinformation practices.

Deep Symmetrism

Jacek H. Kołodziej — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0200

The concept of symmetrism, even more so deep symmetrism, does not appear in academic
literature as a distinct field or topic. The purpose of this article is to elucidate the essence of this
phenomenon, believing it constitutes an important concept that bridges politics and persuasion
in contemporary politics. Deep symmetrism is assumed to be the generative mechanism
of political struggle in the context of the growing strength of populist argumentation, supported
by the actions taken by autocratic politicians when they are allowed to utilize wider resources.
Symmetrism, originally a metanarrative, has evolved into a comprehensive system of duplicating
social institutions (doppelgangering) for the purpose of orchestrating political influence.
As such, it closely connects to the history of propaganda and disinformation. The foundation for
this article is an analysis of political communication and its contexts during the 2023 election
campaign in Poland, as reflected in mediated political discussions.

Can Disinformation be Regulated?

Gergely F. Lendvai, János Tamás Papp, Tamás Szikora, Krzysztof Wasilewski — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0200

This paper critically examines the European Union’s regulatory approaches to combating disinformation, focusing on the Code of Practice on Disinformation, Digital Services Act, European Media Freedom Act and regulation on transparency and targeting of political advertising. Through legal analysis and literature review, the study assesses the strengths and limitations of these frameworks in addressing disinformation, particularly within the context of advertising transparency and platform accountability. Key findings reveal that while the European Union has made significant strides toward improving transparency and holding platforms accountable, current measures remain largely voluntary, and lack sufficient enforcement mechanisms. The paper concludes that regulation alone is insufficient to effectively eradicate disinformation, and proposes a more holistic approach, combining media literacy (critical thinking), cross-border collaboration and adaptive strategies.

Unveiling The Many Faces of Fact-Checking: State of the Art of Academic Research on Information Correction

Maia Klaassen, Ianis Bucholtz, Marju Himma, Krista Lepik-Verliin — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0200

Research on fact-checking, which began gaining traction around 2010, has seen a significant surge in interest, complicating efforts to overview the field comprehensively. Previous mappings of fact-checking research were often limited in scope and accessibility and lacked context in the post-infodemic era. Addressing these gaps, a systematic literature review was conducted on English-language academic publications from 2010 to 2023, encompassing 675 articles. This review delved into various aspects of fact-checking, such as infrastructure, practices, tools, genres, effectiveness, public perception, and the emerging role of AI. It highlighted the necessity for refined research methodologies, longitudinal effectiveness studies, and a deeper understanding of social context’s impact on misinformation and fact-checking efficacy, particularly beyond the U.S. This comprehensive analysis offers invaluable insights into the evolving landscape of fact-checking and information verification.

Towards a Multi-Level Model of Resilience to Information Disorders

Dmytro Iarovyi, Ragne Kõuts-Klemm, Sten Torpan, Kristina Juraitė — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0200

The article attempts, based on academic sources, to develop a systematic framework of the concepts that define resilience against information disorders – specifically, the factors of resilience and the social practices that support it. To achieve this, a domain-based systematic literature review (SLR) was conducted, drawing on an interdisciplinary selection of articles from peer-reviewed journals. The article describes and categorizes factors that either facilitate or undermine resilience against information disorders, organizing them into a three-dimensional model comprising macro-level, meso-level, and micro-level factors. The findings also emphasize existing academic achievements in recognizing the diverse approaches to enhancing resilience, some of which extend beyond the communication sphere. Given the growing challenges posed by disinformation and information manipulation, this review offers an evidence-based foundation for both theoretical exploration and practical interventions.

Jan Stasieńko (2022). Media Technologies and Posthuman Intimacy

Michał Otrocki — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0200

Carey Jewitt, Sara Price, Kerstin Leder Mackley, Nikoleta Yiannoutsou, Douglas Atkinson (2025). Interdisciplinary Insights for Digital Touch Communication

Sokhi Huda — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0200

Marius Dragomir Wins the Media and Democracy Karol Jakubowicz Award 2025

Dagmara Sidyk-Furman, Michał Głowacki — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0200

In the VIII edition (2025) of the Media and Democracy Karol Jakubowicz Award, the Selection Committee honoured Marius Dragomir for his Media Capture Monitoring Report (co-authored with Zsuzsa Detreköi) and granted a special award to Basila Kerski for Europejczycy z kantonu Polska.

Editors' Introduction

Agnieszka Stępińska — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0200