The hybridization of political communication: Politicized news formats and the boundaries of journalism
Over the last decade, digital transformations towards a hybrid media system have resulted in a breakdown of boundaries between producers and consumers of news, between professional journalists and public relations specialists, and between journalism and strategic political communication, presented as “alternative media”, “native advertising” or at worst in “fake news” formats. Politicians are less dependent on journalistic gatekeepers to spread their messages, since they can communicate directly with citizens via party based news and social media. The content often comes with an aura of journalistic authenticity that political actors use to address societal problems from a “neutral” perspective. Parties across the entire political spectrum are now creating “news units”, “media houses” and online “newspapers” as the 2022 election approaches. While such initiatives may increase the public’s interest in political issues and mobilize voters, experiences from other countries show that a strong politization of the concept of news may strengthen political polarization and increase public distrust in politics and media institutions. The purpose of this project is to advance the understanding of political communication by turning the spotlight on what we refer to as news in “parasitic” forms. We analyze the production, content, and circulation of such news during the 2022 election in Sweden, using quantitative, qualitative, manual as well as automated methods.
Final report
The Hybridisation of Political Communication: Politicised News Formats and the Boundaries of Journalism
The purpose, development and implementation of the project
The aim of the project was to improve understanding of Swedish political parties’ news production during the 2022 election. The starting point for the project was that an increasing number of parties have developed news websites and digital television channels in order to influence voters and shape the agenda of political debate. This development highlights how the boundaries between political opinion formation and news are increasingly becoming blurred. When political parties use established genres drawn from news journalism for political purposes, this may affect citizens’ trust in journalism as well as their ability to distinguish between news and strategic political communication. Against this background, the project analyses politicised news in terms of production strategies, news framing, engagement on social media and influence on legacy media.
Three key conclusions can be drawn from the project. First, the project’s sub-studies show that news websites are not the primary channels for the distribution of politicised news; instead, this role is largely fulfilled by social media platforms. For example, the Social Democratic Party has, through collaboration with the wholly owned company AIP Media, invested considerable resources in the publication Morgon-Tidningen, but the content is primarily distributed via platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. The Sweden Democrats’ initiative Riks used YouTube as the primary distribution channel for its content, although a website for the operation has gradually been developed. Riks also adapts its content to other platforms such as Instagram and TikTok, where the format is shorter. Ahead of the 2022 election, the Green Party invested in the news talk show Tjugotjugotvå, but relied primarily on YouTube and, to some extent, Instagram, and did not produce a dedicated website for the content. The Moderate Party has mainly been active at the local level but did not make any major national investments in news media during the 2022 election. As social media constitute the central channels of distribution, the content is characterised to a large extent by hybridity between different formats. The clearest example is that news is frequently combined with humour and satire. The project’s sub-studies show that news and particularly satire is used as a new form of negative campaigning.
A second important conclusion is that parties’ news communication is characterised by varying degrees of transparency regarding who is behind the content. The Sweden Democrats are the party that has been least transparent about its connection to the content. In the case of Riks, the operation has been described as “conservative news production” without any explicit party label. After the election, the party sold the operation and is therefore no longer the official owner. Morgon-Tidningen, which in the mid-twentieth century was part of the Social Democratic party press, has been relaunched, but without the historical subtitle “Social-Demokraten”, which has weakened transparency. An important finding is also that transparency regarding links to political parties is weakened when the content is distributed through social media platforms. News produced by parties is only to a limited extent disseminated through official channels such as party accounts on social media. Instead, these accounts are characterised by more traditional forms of political communication. However, the project also shows that party communication is increasingly characterised by negative messaging about political opponents, a trend that can also be observed in many other European countries.
A third important conclusion is that there are substantial differences in how effectively parties reach audiences through their content on social media. The Sweden Democrats stand out in that their content generates significantly more views, comments and reactions, making them considerably more effective than any other party. Criticism of legacy media is a central element of their content. To mobilise new voters, not only broad so-called organic strategies are used, but increasingly also targeted campaigns aimed at specific segments of the electorat. For example, during the 2022 election campaign the Left Party initiated campaigns aimed at reaching young voters through collaborations with local influencers in socio-economically disadvantaged areas. Influencer culture has also strongly shaped how parties more generally disseminate political news messages in cooperation with third-party actors. All parties additionally targeted specific audiences via Facebook and Instagram, where they could pay for exposure based on predefined parameters. Our studies show that politicised news plays a marginal role in such campaigns and that these strategies reflect the voter segments in which the parties are strongest.
The results of the project raise a number of new questions that require further research. The phenomenon of politicised news had not yet fully developed during the period surrounding the 2022 election. Ahead of the 2026 election, a number of new initiatives have therefore emerged. Future research should examine the interaction between new alternative media and political parties, both in terms of content and organisational structures. Another important change in the media landscape concerns the possibility of disseminating paid political advertising. In 2025, Meta and Google ceased political advertising in the EU in response to the European Union’s new rules on transparency and targeted political advertising. The consequences of this for political communication need to be examined, as indirect collaborations with third-party actors, including news organisations, may potentially be used to disseminate sponsored content on social media. Finally, the project shows that established media organisations have been reluctant to use politicised media as news sources. Instead, these outlets have primarily been the subject of critical reporting. Follow-up studies should therefore monitor developments and examine whether different forms of politicised media over time come to be accepted as legitimate sources within legacy journalism.
Dissemination of research results and collaboration
Research results from the project have been presented in six articles in international peer-reviewed journals, as well as in four book chapters and one entry in an international encyclopaedia. At the time of the final report, two additional articles were under review for publication. To disseminate the findings within the research community, several studies were presented at major international conferences in media and communication research: the International Communication Association (ICA) in Gold Coast, Australia (2024) and Cape Town, South Africa (2026); the European Communication Research and Education Association (ECREA) in Ljubljana, Slovenia (2024) and Aarhus, Denmark (2023); and NordMedia in Odense, Denmark (2025) and Bergen, Norway (2023). In addition, the project has been presented at research seminars at the University of Gothenburg, Södertörn University and Linnaeus University, as well as at the interdisciplinary research conference “Valspråk”, held at Stockholm University in 2022.
The project has placed strong emphasis on collaboration, particularly with Nordic researchers. In 2022, a symposium was organised through collaboration between the Department of Media Studies at Stockholm University and Nordicom, with support from the research area Digital Humanities at Stockholm University. The symposium resulted in a special issue of the journal Nordicom Review with the theme “Democracy and Digital Disintegration: Actors, Platforms, Citizens”, with Widholm and Ekman serving as guest editors.
Engagement with actors outside academia has taken place through a public panel discussion at Stockholm University together with the communications directors of the Social Democratic Party and the Moderate Party, as well as journalists from Dagens Nyheter and SVT. The event was organised in collaboration with the research area “Language and Power” at Stockholm University, which enabled participation from a broad range of researchers. The collaboration with Language and Power has also made it possible for two sub-studies to be published in an interdisciplinary anthology. Project participants have also contributed to media coverage on several occasions, including news features on SVT, Sveriges Radio P1, Dagens Nyheter and ETC.
The purpose, development and implementation of the project
The aim of the project was to improve understanding of Swedish political parties’ news production during the 2022 election. The starting point for the project was that an increasing number of parties have developed news websites and digital television channels in order to influence voters and shape the agenda of political debate. This development highlights how the boundaries between political opinion formation and news are increasingly becoming blurred. When political parties use established genres drawn from news journalism for political purposes, this may affect citizens’ trust in journalism as well as their ability to distinguish between news and strategic political communication. Against this background, the project analyses politicised news in terms of production strategies, news framing, engagement on social media and influence on legacy media.
Three key conclusions can be drawn from the project. First, the project’s sub-studies show that news websites are not the primary channels for the distribution of politicised news; instead, this role is largely fulfilled by social media platforms. For example, the Social Democratic Party has, through collaboration with the wholly owned company AIP Media, invested considerable resources in the publication Morgon-Tidningen, but the content is primarily distributed via platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. The Sweden Democrats’ initiative Riks used YouTube as the primary distribution channel for its content, although a website for the operation has gradually been developed. Riks also adapts its content to other platforms such as Instagram and TikTok, where the format is shorter. Ahead of the 2022 election, the Green Party invested in the news talk show Tjugotjugotvå, but relied primarily on YouTube and, to some extent, Instagram, and did not produce a dedicated website for the content. The Moderate Party has mainly been active at the local level but did not make any major national investments in news media during the 2022 election. As social media constitute the central channels of distribution, the content is characterised to a large extent by hybridity between different formats. The clearest example is that news is frequently combined with humour and satire. The project’s sub-studies show that news and particularly satire is used as a new form of negative campaigning.
A second important conclusion is that parties’ news communication is characterised by varying degrees of transparency regarding who is behind the content. The Sweden Democrats are the party that has been least transparent about its connection to the content. In the case of Riks, the operation has been described as “conservative news production” without any explicit party label. After the election, the party sold the operation and is therefore no longer the official owner. Morgon-Tidningen, which in the mid-twentieth century was part of the Social Democratic party press, has been relaunched, but without the historical subtitle “Social-Demokraten”, which has weakened transparency. An important finding is also that transparency regarding links to political parties is weakened when the content is distributed through social media platforms. News produced by parties is only to a limited extent disseminated through official channels such as party accounts on social media. Instead, these accounts are characterised by more traditional forms of political communication. However, the project also shows that party communication is increasingly characterised by negative messaging about political opponents, a trend that can also be observed in many other European countries.
A third important conclusion is that there are substantial differences in how effectively parties reach audiences through their content on social media. The Sweden Democrats stand out in that their content generates significantly more views, comments and reactions, making them considerably more effective than any other party. Criticism of legacy media is a central element of their content. To mobilise new voters, not only broad so-called organic strategies are used, but increasingly also targeted campaigns aimed at specific segments of the electorat. For example, during the 2022 election campaign the Left Party initiated campaigns aimed at reaching young voters through collaborations with local influencers in socio-economically disadvantaged areas. Influencer culture has also strongly shaped how parties more generally disseminate political news messages in cooperation with third-party actors. All parties additionally targeted specific audiences via Facebook and Instagram, where they could pay for exposure based on predefined parameters. Our studies show that politicised news plays a marginal role in such campaigns and that these strategies reflect the voter segments in which the parties are strongest.
The results of the project raise a number of new questions that require further research. The phenomenon of politicised news had not yet fully developed during the period surrounding the 2022 election. Ahead of the 2026 election, a number of new initiatives have therefore emerged. Future research should examine the interaction between new alternative media and political parties, both in terms of content and organisational structures. Another important change in the media landscape concerns the possibility of disseminating paid political advertising. In 2025, Meta and Google ceased political advertising in the EU in response to the European Union’s new rules on transparency and targeted political advertising. The consequences of this for political communication need to be examined, as indirect collaborations with third-party actors, including news organisations, may potentially be used to disseminate sponsored content on social media. Finally, the project shows that established media organisations have been reluctant to use politicised media as news sources. Instead, these outlets have primarily been the subject of critical reporting. Follow-up studies should therefore monitor developments and examine whether different forms of politicised media over time come to be accepted as legitimate sources within legacy journalism.
Dissemination of research results and collaboration
Research results from the project have been presented in six articles in international peer-reviewed journals, as well as in four book chapters and one entry in an international encyclopaedia. At the time of the final report, two additional articles were under review for publication. To disseminate the findings within the research community, several studies were presented at major international conferences in media and communication research: the International Communication Association (ICA) in Gold Coast, Australia (2024) and Cape Town, South Africa (2026); the European Communication Research and Education Association (ECREA) in Ljubljana, Slovenia (2024) and Aarhus, Denmark (2023); and NordMedia in Odense, Denmark (2025) and Bergen, Norway (2023). In addition, the project has been presented at research seminars at the University of Gothenburg, Södertörn University and Linnaeus University, as well as at the interdisciplinary research conference “Valspråk”, held at Stockholm University in 2022.
The project has placed strong emphasis on collaboration, particularly with Nordic researchers. In 2022, a symposium was organised through collaboration between the Department of Media Studies at Stockholm University and Nordicom, with support from the research area Digital Humanities at Stockholm University. The symposium resulted in a special issue of the journal Nordicom Review with the theme “Democracy and Digital Disintegration: Actors, Platforms, Citizens”, with Widholm and Ekman serving as guest editors.
Engagement with actors outside academia has taken place through a public panel discussion at Stockholm University together with the communications directors of the Social Democratic Party and the Moderate Party, as well as journalists from Dagens Nyheter and SVT. The event was organised in collaboration with the research area “Language and Power” at Stockholm University, which enabled participation from a broad range of researchers. The collaboration with Language and Power has also made it possible for two sub-studies to be published in an interdisciplinary anthology. Project participants have also contributed to media coverage on several occasions, including news features on SVT, Sveriges Radio P1, Dagens Nyheter and ETC.