Formati, temi e strategie della comunicazione politica visuale. Il caso della campagna elettorale europea 2024 in Italia

This paper contributes to the growing field of visual political communication and visual politics. It examines the uses of visual content – mainly webcards and photographs – on social media by Italian political leaders and parties during the 2024 European Parliament election campaign. Through a systematic analysis of images posted on 21 Facebook and Instagram accounts, the study explores how political actors visually represented themselves, engaged with ideological themes, and employed framing strategies. Combining quantitative and qualitative methods, the research identifies recurring visual repertoires, aesthetic choices, and communicative practices. The findings show a significant degree of stylistic and formal homogeneity across parties and leaders, limiting the distinctiveness of personalized communication strategies. Despite the dynamic nature of digital platforms, most visual content adheres to conventional formats, without innovatively exploiting the expressive and participatory potential of social media. Differences among candidates were mainly registered in the visual framing of such topics as migration and national identity, as well as in the still very initial use of AI for image generation.