Visual Politics at the Time of Platform Society

Visual Politics has its roots in the history of political communication, and it takes on particular relevance in the contemporary media scenario, together with the assumption of centrality of social media. The chapter begins with a brief history of the role of image in electoral campaigns. The contribution of Visual Politics properly so-called is presented through the evolution of the theoretical framework and exemplary research conducted over time, first in the television field then in the social media field. The social media environment is then identified as an exemplary place where Visual Politics can express its potential in the hybridization of research methods belonging to the sociology of communication and computer sciences. Some first evidence on the contribution of Computer Vision to the study of the 2024 European Elections, provided by two joint research programs in which the authors are involved, are presented.