Exploring viewers’ visual attention and emotional responses to populist communication: A laboratory study of the Finns Party leader’s strategies on Instagram and TikTok

This study examines how social media users engage with visual populist content on Instagram and TikTok, specifically focusing on ‘de-demonization’ strategies used by party leader Riikka Purra of the populist radical right-wing Finns Party. The study investigates how these strategies have been received among a young audience who oppose the populist party. By combining eye-tracking data with facial expression analysis, this research offers a novel methodological approach to understanding visual attention and emotional responses. The results reveal insights into the effectiveness of visual populist communication, suggesting that, while visual elements are often emphasized, captions and user-generated comments play a significant role in shaping emotional engagement. These findings underscore the need for a comprehensive approach to analysing social media content, especially in the context of visual populist strategies on platforms like Instagram and TikTok.