Media-Social Polarization in Slovakia as a Crisis of Communication (Epistemic and Ethical Challenges for Social Actors)
Media-Social Polarization in Slovakia as a Crisis of Communication (Epistemic and Ethical Challenges for Social Actors)

Author(s): Slavomír Gálik, Sabína Gáliková Tolnaiová
Subject(s): Social Sciences, Media studies, Communication studies
Published by: Факултет по журналистика и масова комуникация, Софийски университет „Св. Кл. Охридски”
Keywords: media polarization; social polarization; Slovakia; alternative media; mainstream media; media credibility
Summary/Abstract: This article analyzes media-social polarization in Slovakia as a fundamental crisis of communication, examining its epistemic and ethical dimensions and proposing frameworks for its resolution. The Slovak media landscape is characterized by a binary division between mainstream and alternative media, each cultivating ideologically homogeneous „tribal“ audiences that are increasingly hostile toward one another. Drawing on research by the DEKK agency and Reuters, the authors demonstrate that by 2024 Slovakia had reached a toxic level of polarization – ranking second to last among EU member states – with consequences including the assassination attempt on Prime Minister Robert Fico. The article argues that the root cause of this crisis lies not in media technologies themselves, but in a deeper spiritual-cultural crisis of reason, morality, and the value of truth in Slovakia's collective mentality, manifested as an epistemic-ethical failure of social actors. The declining credibility of mainstream media – with public trust falling from 34% in 2018 to 23% in 2025 – is identified as a key driver of alternative media growth, itself partly attributable to mainstream media's own professional and ethical failures, including political bias, ideological activism, and suppression of dissenting voices. The authors outline two frameworks for addressing polarization: one targeting media and journalists (emphasizing dialogue, pluralism, ethical self-regulation, and professional integrity), and another targeting the public (emphasizing media literacy, critical thinking, and axiological-ethical education). The article concludes that overcoming polarization requires forming a new culture and ethos of communication oriented toward the common good, achievable only through long-term, systemic effort.

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