Propaganda Discourse of Fear: Strategies of Spanish Political Leaders in X to Influence the Media Agenda (2015–2023)

Abstract

In a society shaped by a culture of fear and characterised by the dynamics of the risk society, political parties increasingly employ fear as a communicative instrument to capture public attention. This article examines how Spain’s major political parties utilise their official accounts on X (formerly Twitter) to influence the media agenda through messages that frame political issues as imminent threats. Drawing on a content analysis of posts published between 2015 and 2023, the study identifies both the rhetorical strategies deployed and the threats most frequently invoked — chiefly the economic crisis and separatist movements. The analysis focuses on posts containing interviews or excerpts from interviews shared by the six State-level political parties represented in the Spanish Congress of Deputies, resulting in a corpus of 968 units of analysis. A coding scheme based on established methodological guidelines was developed to identify the presence of fear triggers, the types of threats invoked, the thematic focus of the messages, and the propagandistic objectives. Findings reveal that the salience ascribed to particular threats varies by ideological orientation, underscoring the strategic deployment of fear in partisan communication. The study concludes that such messaging not only perpetuates a culture of fear and reshapes perceptions of security but also contributes to the fragmentation of public discourse. By adapting their rhetoric to resonate with prevailing anxieties, political parties consolidate their media visibility, reinforce ideological narratives, and shape the contours of collective concern.