Polarización visual: el papel de Instagram en la formación de identidades colectivas

Political polarisation plays a significant role in digital contexts, especially on visu-ally oriented platforms like Instagram. During election campaigns, political actors craft visual narratives to intensify polarisation, fostering allegiance among sup-porters and hostility toward opponents (Iyengar et al., 2019). This article exam-ines the strategic use of visual polarisation on Instagram by Spain's main political parties (PSOE, PP, VOX y SUMAR) and their correspondent leaders during the 2023 general elections. A quantitative content analysis was conducted on N=668 visu-als (images only) posted during the two weeks official campaign on the official Instagram profiles. The study focuses on how political actors used visual strategies to convey ideologies, mobilize supporters, and engage in negative campaigning against opponents. Findings indicate that Instagram was employed to mobilize voters through polarisation strategies, such as symbolic resources that reinforced collective identities. Politicians projected positive images to strengthen support while simultaneously promoting divisions via attacks on opponents. This study enhances understanding of visual communication in politics, shedding light on how social media fosters polarisation through strategic visual narratives.