Affective polarization between political communication and economic uncertainty during the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy

This article examines how individual changes in the frequency of political information consumption and discussion across different communication environments influenced affective polarization (AP) during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy. Using a three-wave panel survey of Italian citizens and fixed-effects models, we find that increased exposure to political information through legacy media and face-to-face discussions heightened AP, whereas similar engagement on social media had no such effect. Additionally, we explore the moderating role of economic uncertainty in this relationship. While financial insecurity was directly linked to lower AP, it intensified polarization when combined with greater political information from legacy media, face-to-face discussions, and, to a lesser extent, social media. The findings contribute to a deeper understanding of AP and its connections to media consumption and communication dynamics.