Reinforcing Relationship Between Alternative Media Use and Societal Beliefs? Issue Politicization and Asymmetrical Effects as Boundary Conditions

One characteristic of the transition from low-choice to high‐choice media environments is the rise of political alternative news media. Few studies have so far focused on the longitudinal and reciprocal relationship between alternative media use and perceptions of societal problems. Building on the reinforcing spirals model, this study analyses the dynamic relationship between alternative media use and perceptions about three topics that vary in levels of baseline issue politicization: crime, economy, and health care. Using six-wave panel survey data collected in Sweden over three years, findings show that left-wing and right-wing alternative media use is more strongly related to perceptions of politicized than non-politicized issues. However, results from random-intercept cross-lagged panel models reveal few indications of within-person reciprocal dynamics. While users of left-wing and right-wing alternative media diverge significantly in the beliefs they hold about these issues, there is little evidence for media-driven belief reinforcement over time.