ABSTRACT
The impact of information and communication technologies (ICTs) on Italian politics has followed a peculiar route by comparison with other Western democracies. The combination of a mass media system historically intertwined with politics (Hallin and Mancini 2004, pp. 89–142; Marletti and Roncarolo 2000; Roncarolo 2002) and the supremacy on television of the centre-right leader and current Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi (Grandi and Vaccari 2009) creates opportunities for oppositional movements and political entrepreneurs to take advantage of online tools for engaging citizens. As the right dominates on television, which is the medium through which most Italians acquire political information (Legnante 2007), the left has an incentive to create alternative competitive advantages in digital media and interpersonal communication (Campus et al. 2008).
