Infographics

Book section : Chapter

Infographics—or visuals designed to convey information efficiently, coherently, and comprehensibly—are important ways by which different actors communicate to achieve their objectives. This entry introduces the main conceptual, theoretical, and empirical avenues of research on infographics in political domains, with particular emphasis on issues arising from their use in digital contexts. First, we locate infographics within the larger field of visual political communication, and then we distinguish them from the related mode of data visualization. Then, we identify major lines of research into the forms, production, consumption, political impacts, circulation patterns, and veracity of infographics. Finally, we highlight how questions of power run through political examinations of infographics, and illustrate this with reference to the domains of categorization, elections and campaigning, policymaking, and social movements.

Authors: Allen, WL; Amit-Danhi, ER

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
• Host title: Encyclopedia of Political Communication
• Volume: 2
• Pages: 215–218
• Series: Elgar Encyclopedias in the Social Sciences series
• Place of publication: Cheltenham, UK
• Publication date: 2025-12-28
• Edition: 1
• DOI: 10.4337/9781035301447.vol2.00054
• EISBN: 9781035301447
• ISBN: 9781035301430
• Language: English
• Keywords: data politics; visualization; visual communication; infographics
• Subtype: Chapter