The current technological landscape has been profoundly shaped by rapid and significant advances in artificial intelligence (AI), sparking extraordinary interest in academia and beyond. Considered an unprecedented revolutionary technology, it has captured the attention of researchers, scholars, and professionals from various disciplines as it offers transformative prospects in a wide range of fields. This technological progress has sparked a broad debate on its social, ethical, and economic impacts, raising important questions that require in-depth and multidisciplinary investigations. AI thus emerges as an ever-evolving discipline with significant implications for the future of human progress. Besides being seen as an opportunity to pursue common societal goals, many observers have recognized the potential risks associated with such developments. Its integration into the political context also presents a promising opportunity to enhance the efficiency of political decisions however, its adoption raises significant challenges that require careful evaluation. The aim of this research is to explore in detail the relationship between AI and political communication, focusing on the analysis of AI's usage in this context while highlighting the phenomenon of deepfakes, which jeopardize democratic stability and security in many cases. The importance of this research contribution lies in the context where AI is assuming an increasingly prominent role in daily dynamics, making it essential to fully understand the implications and potential consequences of AI application in the political field. Furthermore, it is crucial to assess whether such initiatives can genuinely be considered democratic or if they could represent a dangerous trend towards the use of manipulative algorithms.

This contribution focuses on analysing political communication in Italy during the 2022 national elections, with particular attention to the TikTok platform, where prominent Italian political leaders have appeared. To this end, we used a combination of social analysis tools, including Fanpage Karma and Blogmeter Live Insight. The collected data were scrutinized using a multidisciplinary approach that combines Political Communication Theory and Media Analysis. The aim is to explore the role of pop culture in political communication and understand how this phenomenon influences political participation and users’ choices. Furthermore, the possible consequences of the growing popularity of pop political communication on political representation are examined, as well as whether this is a momentary or long-lasting phenomenon.

Today, the process of digitisation of everyday life pervades all aspects and areas in which human beings move and realise their interests. The political sphere is no exception and is also influenced by technological innovation. Over the last decade, the development of Web 2.0 has meant that cyberspace, albeit through electronic means, has taken on the characteristics of a physical place in the guise of social platforms. Currently, the continued proliferation of social networks is reviving numerous debates and latent issues that are still unresolved. Against this backdrop, research has been undertaken to understand the different aspects and the many meanings of this new dimension across different fields of research. In fact, the work will initially focus on the role they possess in society and the possible negative declinations resulting from disinformation and will then come to a legal overview in terms of European regulations, with reference to the protection of privacy and personal data following the enactment of EU Regulation 679/2016. The objective of this study is to provide a sociological and legal framework for the ethics of artificial intelligence and legal regulation in Europe. This study aims to promote a scientific and political discussion to improve understanding of the pervasiveness of social networks and related legal implications. Additionally, this study seeks to offer a perspective that leads to ethical and sustainable solutions.

In the current context where digitization permeates all aspects of everyday life, the religious world is not immune to the influences associated with technological aspects. In recent years, a space has emerged on the internet where a collective faith is recognized, even through electronic means, bringing together individuals into a community that takes on the characteristics of a sacred place. This raises new questions about the concept of sacredness itself in relation to digitization, as this process has opened up the possibility of new forms of communicating the sacred through electronic means, transforming the very concept of the sacred into a digital dimension. The use of virtual environments or digital tools to spread a religious message has given space to creative figures who experiment with innovative language within the religious traditions. In this scenario, research has emerged aimed at understanding the multiple aspects and meanings of this new sacred experience. The objective is to analyze how these religious traditions adapt to and appropriate the digital dimension, exploring the dynamics of interaction between the sacred and the digital, as well as the theological, cultural, and social implications that arise from it. Through the exploration of these themes, this article aims to explain how digitization has redefined traditional concepts such as sacred place and how religious practice has evolved in the digital age. The goal is to offer a perspective on the transformation of the sacred in the digital context, exploring tensions between tradition and innovation, authenticity and fragmentation, participation, and distance in the contemporary religious sphere. This article aims to provide an understanding of how the digital has redefined the concept of sacredness, opening new horizons and challenges for religion in this new era.

Giorgia Meloni has long been one of the most important figures on the political scene. Her strength has been, from the very beginning, clear and effective communication, combined with a populist style based on the credibility of her path. Our contribution will attempt to highlight the interweaving that links this discipline to the complex and varied representation of populism. The analyses are based on extensive documentation of data for a period from July 2020 to September 2022, the month in which the vote was held in Italy. This periodisation allowed us to have a broad view of the phenomenon and a consequent linear picture of the state of the art. Moreover, in this way, we were able to cover three years of particularly intense political debate, allowing us to outline the underlying motivations that led to electoral success. Based on existing research, the phenomena are described and then framed in relation to the social and political context in which they were experienced, taking into account the interconnection with communication. In this sense, this contribution aims to introduce a perspective that corrects most analyses in this field, which assume that populist parties have lost ground in Europe with the advent of the pandemic. In fact, this study argues that the communication strategies linked to some of Giorgia Meloni’s political choices, including all forms of populism, have generally succeeded in attracting greater public interest while maintaining the characteristics of a phenomenon with pop traits that favoured its rise.

This paper aims to explore the complex and sometimes controversial relationship between social media and politics. The correlation between these two areas of research has always been less linear than a simplistic narrative might suggest, mainly because of the involvement of different scientific disciplines, such as sociology, political science, communication, social psychology and computer science. The decision to explore this topic is motivated by the persistent relevance of social media platforms in the current era. This growing centrality is also due to the accelerated digitization process that occurred during the pandemic phase in the digital ecosystem. In particular, the pandemic has contributed to a significant evolution of the concept of social networks. The methodology used is based on secondary data, and the work seeks to highlight the expansion of digital space resulting from the shift from a simple place of interaction to a digital space that reconfigured the mobilization and political action of Campania’s governor Vincenzo De Luca. In conclusion, the study reveals important findings on the president’s use of social media. For example, active citizen engagement strategies through direct interaction, timely information sharing, and mobilization of online resources are evident. Therefore, it becomes necessary to ask and understand whether the potential of new social technologies is being used to cultivate critical and massive citizen participation in democratic processes or whether it is being distorted for the sole purpose of increasing or consolidating consent.