Comparative analysis of the social media communication of Czech political leaders (chairpersons) of selected political parties during campaign before the parliamentary elections in 2021

This thesis analyses the communication of leaders of political parties in the Czech Republic on social media in relation to the elections to the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic in 2021. The aim of the thesis was to find out how political leaders communicate on selected social media in the pre-election, election and post-election period. The chosen research method is quantitative content analysis. Three time periods were selected for the purpose of the analysis - the week before the election, the week of the election and the week after the election. The research included leaders whose electoral potential according to the Kantar model was above the threshold for winning a mandate according to the Act on Elections to the Parliament of the Czech Republic. Seven candidates met this criterion. The analysis studies posts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram in terms of, for example, frequency, communicated topics or interactions. The analysis of individual profiles and the subsequent comparison of the results showed significant differences in the frequency, length and focus of the posts of each leader. For six of the seven leaders analysed, positive presentation of the programme and political views prevailed over criticism of other politicians or political entities. Only a small..