La transformación visual de la comunicación política: nuevas funciones, escenografías y formas del vídeo político digital

Abstract

In the contemporary visual era, the digital video has established itself as a central tool for political communication. Within a permanent campaign context dominated by mobile consumption and platform algorithms, images and discourses seek to stand out through emotional persuasion and citizen mobilization, raising significant ethical challenges regarding quality and narrative manipulation. Thus, this research analyzes the use of digital political video to understand how Spanish political parties and their leaders employ this format, examining their communicative functions, staging, and formal resources used. To this end, a quantitative content analysis methodology based on the 5Ws model of digital political image is applied. The sample comprises 3,901 videos published on YouTube, Facebook, X, Instagram, and TikTok by four Spanish political forces (PSOE, PP, VOX, and Sumar) and their respective leaders across two distinct contexts: the July 23, 2023 general election and a period of ordinary parliamentary activity in 2024. The main findings reveal that digital video acts as a powerful tool for affective and electoral mobilization during campaigns. Outside campaign periods, communicative functions polarize according to the political role of the actor: self-promotion dominates among governing forces, whereas critique prevails in the opposition. Furthermore, the study evidences a constant tension between formal institutional staging and the pursuit of authenticity through amateur styling and strategic spontaneity. Finally, a clear formal adaptation toward short, vertical videos with high editing and subtitling is confirmed in order to optimize silent consumption on mobile devices.