Opinion and argumentation in the digital public sphere

in search of controversy in the meshes that networks weave

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.34629/cpublica_897

Keywords:

Social Media X, Opinion Makers, Debate

Abstract

This text questions the existence of discussion and disagreement on social media, particularly on the platform X. The current scenario, so contaminated by misinformation and extreme speech (intensifying opposition to Big Tech and the abandonment of some social media), suggests the mobilisation of theoretical contributions related to disenchantment with ICT and the decline of rationality in the digital sphere. It is in this direction that the results achieved in this research also lead us. The aim was to find out whether those who take part in political debate and commentary programs on television channels also discuss on X social media platform. To do this, we analyzed the publications of ten accounts on this social media, during the last four months of 2023.

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Author Biography

  • Antónia do Carmo Barriga, UBI

    Doctor of Sociology (specializing in Sociology of Communication, Culture and Education), Master in Communication, Culture and Information Technologies, and Bachelor in Sociology from ISCTE – University Institute of Lisbon. She is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Beira Interior (UBI) and a researcher integrated into CIES-UBI. Her research focuses on the sociology of communication, in particular: published opinion and the relationships between the media system and the political system; political discourse in new media; architecture, use of social media and transformations in the public sphere.

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Published

2025-12-15

How to Cite

Opinion and argumentation in the digital public sphere: in search of controversy in the meshes that networks weave. (2025). Comunicação Pública, 20(39). https://doi.org/10.34629/cpublica_897