From Facts to Conspiracy Theories. The Media Construction
of the Assassination Attempt on Robert Fico
and the Spread of Disinformation

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https://doi.org/10.54937/2026.9788056112496.9-29

Autor/ Author: Katarína Matušková     

In: RONČÁKOVÁ, Terézia a DORKOVÁ, Beáta (eds.). (De)polarizácia na Slovensku II. Online. Ružomberok: VERBUM – vydavateľstvo Katolíckej univerzity v Ružomberku, 2026. ISBN 978-80-561-1249-6. Dostupné na: https://doi.org/10.54937/2026.9788056112496

ISBN: 978-80-561-1249-6

Strany/ Page Range: 9-29

Rok vydania/ Publication Year: 2026

Jazyk/ Language: Slovak

Vydavateľ/ Publisher: VERBUM – vydavateľstvo Katolíckej univerzity v Ružomberku

Abstrakt/ Abstract: This paper examines media discourse and the circulation of disinformation in the Slovak online sphere following the assassination attempt on Prime Minister Robert Fico in May 2024. It investigates how the event was framed in selected media outputs and how key actors—political parties, media organizations, experts, and the “progressive” and “conservative” camps—participated in attribution processes, namely the search for causes and the ascription of moral and personality characteristics to opponents.
The theoretical section draws on framing theory and attribution analysis, proceeding from the assumption that media constructions of reality shape public interpretations of events and, over time, contribute to the formation of collective memory. The analytical section employs qualitative content analysis of media texts and commentaries published in liberal and conservative outlets, as well as narratives disseminated on social media and documented and verified by the Demagog.sk team.

Kľúčové slová/ Keywords: media discourse, disinformation, framing, attribution analysis, polarization

Citácia/ How to cite:
MATUŠKOVÁ, Katarína, 2026. Od faktov ku konšpiračným teóriám. Mediálna konštrukcia atentátu na Roberta Fica a šírenie dezinformácií. In: (De)polarizácia na Slovensku II. Online. Ružomberok: VERBUM – vydavateľstvo Katolíckej univerzity v Ružomberku, 2026, s. 9-29. ISBN 978-80-561-1249-6.  Dostupné na: https://doi.org/10.54937/2026.9788056112496.9-29

Toto dielo je publikované pod/ This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Financované EÚ NextGenerationEU prostredníctvom Plánu obnovy a odolnosti SR
v rámci projektu č. 09I03-03-V02-00041.
Funded by the EU NextGenerationEU through the Recovery and Resilience Plan for Slovakia
under the project No. 09I03-03-V02-00041.