Political Information on Twitter: #elezioni2013 and the role of gatekeeper citizens

The lack of political trust did not coincide with a decline in the Italians’ interest in politics. Despite the growing disaffection of citizens towards institutions and traditional parties, the civic and political engagement moved towards different forms of participation, both online and offline: mobilizations related to the environment and local areas (31% of Italians); activities within cultural, sports and leisure associations (50% of Italians); consumer awareness, or the purchase of products based on ethical, political or ideological grounds (37% of Italians); political discussions on the Internet (17% of Italians), and so on (Demos, 2013). It would seem that the disillusion of citizens towards traditional politics is accompanied by a higher participation from below: new forms of political and civic engagement with respect to which, as this work aims to show, the role of the Internet and social media is crucial.