What the candidates talked about in the election campaign: Monthly review of media publications #2

Monthly Media Coverage Review [20–30 October 2025]

What the candidates talked about in the election campaign:

The period after the first round of elections, between 20 and 30 October, brought high media activity and intense online engagement. Although the initial euphoric tone following the electoral results gradually diminished, the public space remained dynamic, filled with analyses, reactions and new promises ahead of the second round.
Over six thousand media publications and more than seven hundred pieces of content on social networks created a digital buzz, in which attention shifted from the election results themselves to questions about future coalitions, local priorities and promises for continuity and reforms.
This period marked the transition from electoral rhetoric to narratives focused on governance and accountability — a tone that reflects the public’s expectations after the voting race ended.

Dominant themes: education, infrastructure, waste …

In the media space, content with an emotional and polarising tone provoked the greatest interaction — themes related to national identity, EU-integration, local governance and transparency. Digitally oriented portals continued to dominate with their ability to generate strong reactions on social networks, while traditional television and print media retained their influence through continuity and trust
This duality created a hybrid media scene: one side driven by speed and emotion, and the other by stability and institutional authority.
As electoral interest waned, the discussion shifted towards issues of public interest. Topics of education and schools led the agenda with over 3,000 media publications and in total more than 100,000 interactions. They were followed by local problems — infrastructure, waste and public services — which achieved the highest engagement efficiency per publication Debates about EU integration, local self-government and digital innovations gained further momentum, reflecting citizens’ expectations for reform and modernisation.
On social networks, apart from the elections, discussion stood out around child health, digitalisation and innovations. These themes, although with a smaller number of posts, generated high response and showed that citizens increasingly seek a conversation about quality of life and modernisation, not only about political outcomes.

Where is the discussion happening?

Engagement continued to vary significantly depending on platform. TikTok remained the most powerful channel for audience mobilisation, averaging about 600 interactions per post and proving key for reaching younger voters. Facebook retained its role as the central arena for discussion, while Instagram continued to be used primarily for visual storytelling and community-building.
The week also saw a gradual normalisation of tone, as campaign content became more question-oriented and less confrontational.

Hate speech

Although intense online engagement continued after the first round, the level of negative comments and hate speech did not increase significantly. On average, between 6 and 12 percent of comments had a negative or insulting tone — a figure similar to previous weeks. Most of the hate speech was related to identity and ethnic issues, and not to programme differences.
This shows that despite polarisation, public discourse remained relatively controlled, and the dominant tone of communication moved towards accountability, local governance and institutional performance.

Methodology

The data in this review originates from comprehensive monitoring of public discourse carried out via the Pikasa Analytics platform, which combines automated tracking with advanced content analysis from online media and social networks.
Civica Mobilitas is a project of the Government of Switzerland implemented by MCC Macedonia, NIRAS from Denmark and FCG Sweden. The opinions expressed in this publication do not reflect the position of the Government of Switzerland.