Visual political communication research: A literature review from 2012 to 2022

Abstract

More than ten years ago, Schill’s (2012) review article was published on the visual aspects of political communication aiming to increase research in this field. It seems that scholars have reacted to this call in the last decade. The present article argues that in the last ten years, visual political communication (VPC) has been affected by technological advances, and with the proliferation of the internet and social media, political communication has become even more visual. As Schill’s (2012) article predated this period, a new review seems to be timely. To that end, a combination of a systematic and narrative review is provided to highlight the results and developments in this area. Findings suggest that the rise of social media has brought changes to VPC, which have been reflected in the literature by focusing on key concepts in contemporary political communication: personalization, populism, gender-related issues, and the effects of VPC on citizens, separately on social media and in television.