Exploring Media Use and Perceptions of Swedish News Media Among Immigrants During the Election Campaign 2018

Abstract

In democratic societies, news media play a key role – not least during election campaigns – as a central source of political information and forum for public debate. This makes it crucial to understand how and why people use and perceive news media. This includes immigrants. Despite the fact that immigrants constitute a relatively large group, and indications that immigrants and the Swedish majority population differ in ways that might have societal implications, there is however limited research on media use and media perceptions among immigrants in Sweden. To help remedy this, the aim of the current study is to explore how immigrants used and perceived Swedish news media during the election campaign 2018. Findings from focus group data display a great deal of variation regarding characteristics and motivations for media use. Further, four different trust dimensions that participants evaluated, and based their perceptions of news media on, are identified.