scholarly journals Investigating Visual Content Shared over Twitter during the 2019 EU Parliamentary Election Campaign

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 158-170
Author(s):  
Nahema Marchal ◽  
Lisa-Maria Neudert ◽  
Bence Kollanyi ◽  
Philip N. Howard
Keyword(s):  
Political Communication ◽  
Parliamentary Election ◽  
Visual Content ◽  
Political Humor ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Eu Membership ◽  
Twitter Users ◽  
Digital Campaigning ◽  
Media Manipulation ◽  
Comparative Content

Political communication increasingly takes on visual forms. Yet, despite their ubiquity in everyday communication and digital campaigning, the use of these visuals remains critically understudied. In this article, we investigate the formats and modes of visual content deployed by Twitter users over a two-week period leading up to the 2019 EU Parliamentary elections and across two publics: those discussing the election at large and those discussing the more contentious issue of EU membership. Conducting a multilingual, cross-comparative content and thematic analysis of a sample of 1,097 images, we find that<em>: </em>(1) Visuals originating from traditional political actors prevailed among both Twitter discourses; (2) users shared substantial amounts of anti-EU, populist and, to a lesser extent, extremist images, though this content remained largely disjointed from the mainstream public debate; and (3) political humor emerged as a vector for anti-establishment and Eurosceptic themes, especially in discussions critical of the European project. We discuss the implications of our findings for the study of visual political communication and social media manipulation.

scholarly journals TRUSTING TWITTERSPHERE AS A GENUINE POLITICAL DEBATE? THE CASE OF INDONESIAN ELECTION HASTAGS

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yearry Panji Setianto
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Political Communication ◽  
Online Community ◽  
Digital Citizenship ◽  
Parliamentary Election ◽  
Political Debate ◽  
Small Communities ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Political Conversation ◽  
Social Media Platforms

This research in progress explores how political discussion on Indonesian Twittersphere could provide a genuine conversation on debates related to the upcoming 2019 national election in Indonesia. Taking the case of the presidential and parliamentary election in the upcoming April 2019, the author uses social media data on Twitter to investigate whether the discussions are heavily lean into digital public sphere or more dominated by political buzzer and bots. The author examines this by creating Twitter network maps based on hashtags related to the election. Modularity tests are employed to identify the extent of online community developed during the conversations. Most of the hashtags analyzed could attract hundreds of small communities, created mini-publics, which in turn shows the degree of willingness of the Indonesian social media users to participate in this practice of digital citizenship. Qualitative observations on the selection of the most significant actors within the network and the words they posted are employed to understand if the conversations were not led by either dominant political actors or political buzzers/bots, and thus, suggest the citizens’ genuine form of political communication. Despite the limitations of studying Twitter data, the author suggests that by taking a closer attention to how political conversation in non-English/Western political environment, this study might provide valuable insights on the development of genuine utilization of (and trust on) the social media platforms for political engagement.

scholarly journals Key Influencers in Public Diplomacy 2.0: A Country-Based Social Network Analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 205630512098105
Author(s):  
Diana Ingenhoff ◽  
Giada Calamai ◽  
Efe Sevin
Keyword(s):  
New Media ◽  
Public Diplomacy ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Dominant Role ◽  
Opinion Leaders ◽  
Centrality Measures ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Step Flow ◽  
Twitter Users

This article presents a study of Twitter-based communication in order to identify key influencers and to assess the role of their communication in shaping country images. The analysis is based on a 2-month dataset comprised of all tweets including hashtags of the three countries selected for this study: Austria, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. Following a two-step flow model of communication, we initially identified the influential Twitter users in all three countries based on their centrality measures. Subsequently, we carried out a qualitative content analysis of tweets posted by these influential users. Finally, we assessed the similarities and differences across the three country cases. This article offers new insights into public diplomacy 2.0 activities by discussing influence within the context of country images and demonstrating how opinion leaders can play a more dominant role than states or other political actors in creating and disseminating content related to country image. The findings also provide practical insights in the production of a country’s image and its representation on new media platforms.

scholarly journals Political communication in post-truth society

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-87
Author(s):  
Nina Gorenc
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Political Communication ◽  
Presidential Election ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
2016 Election ◽  
Us Presidential Election ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Political Apathy ◽  
The Impact

The research behind this paper is set in the context of the 2016 US presidential election that has come to symbolize the post-truth era. We conducted a literature review on the 2016 election, with the aim to better understand the impact of computational propaganda on the election outcome and on the behaviour of voters. The paper opens with a definition of post-truth society and related concepts such as fake news and computational propaganda. It explores the changes of political communication in a digital environment and analyses the role of social media in the 2016 election. It probes into phenomena such as the trivialization of politics and the loss of credibility of political actors, which are both common in post-truth societies. The reviewed literature seems to indicate that social media have become strong actors on the political stage, but so far not the predominant source of political information and influence on the behaviour of voters. The paper makes two important contributions. Firstly, drawing on the concept of post-truth society, it analyses the role of computational propaganda in the 2016 presidential election, and secondly, it attempts to explain the paradox of general political apathy on one hand, and increased political activism on the other. These are some of the challenges we are now facing, and in order to be able to cope with them it is important to acknowledge and understand them.

scholarly journals THE POLITICAL ACTOR’S BRAND IN THE 2012 BACĂU ELECTORAL CAMPAIGN

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristina Cirtita-Buzoianu
Keyword(s):  
Political Communication ◽  
Human Dimensions ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
Political Marketing ◽  
The Political ◽  
Human Dimension ◽  
Political Dimension ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Electoral Campaign ◽  
Political Project

This paper aims to analyze the image and identity of political actors during an electoral campaign, as these two elements are defining for political marketing in attracting and convincing voters. With that in mind we will monitor the image of the two candidates for the position of mayor in the 2012 electoral campaign in Bacău, as it appeared in the written local press. The analysis of the two politicians will be made from the perspective of two pre-established image indicators: the political and the human dimensions. Each of the two dimensions has sub indicators pre-established in order to validate the general mediatized image of the candidate. Regarding the political dimension we will measure the sub indicators: political communication, attitude towards corruption, interest for civil problems, the ability to negotiate and political project, while the human dimension has the following sub indicators: faith, empathy, morality, honesty, charisma, consistency and leadership. Thus, we will try to identify if there are major differences between the two dimensions, for the two candidates, from a quantitative as well as a qualitative perspective.

scholarly journals The Role of the Party Press in the Electoral Process and Political Communication (Based on the Example of the 2012 Parliamentary Campaign)

2019 ◽  
pp. 110-121
Author(s):  
Vitaliy Peresada
Keyword(s):  
Political Communication ◽  
Party Competition ◽  
Information Support ◽  
Parliamentary Election ◽  
Election Campaign ◽  
Electoral Process ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Party Press ◽  
2012 Election

The article studies the role of party press in the electoral process and political communication based on the example of the elections toVerkhovna Rada of Ukraine in 2012. The classical party and short-term party periodicals are analyzed according to thematic orientation, content of publications, political and ideological bias. In particular, such official print periodicals of the leading political organizations as Communist, Svoboda/Liberty, Vseukrainski Visti/All-Ukrainian News and the party short-term periodicals distributed during the 2012 parliamentary campaign, were examined. The analysis of the party’s legal press and illegal press during the parliamentary election campaign is caused by a sharp increase of its circulation and titles, as well as by the renewed interest of a wide spectrum of recipients and future voters. Methods. The following general scientific research methods were used in the article: 1. Method of abstraction, which made it possible to determine the main categories of scientific work of mass communication direction: party periodicals, hidden party press, election periodicals, etc. The modeling method by which the role of party press in the election campaign was highlighted, which stipulated the influence on the voter’s final will. The method of analysis that provided a systematic study of the functional purpose of party periodicals in the election campaign. The method of induction and deduction, which contributed to a clearer definition of the party press role in information support of the election campaign. The study also used a comparison method. Results and conclusions. The study ascertained that in the 2012 election campaign, the party periodicals played a prominent role, which, however, was far from clear. Most of participants of the electoral process underestimated or neglected the importance of official party print media, focusing on the publications of alternative, cheap and primitive products (special issues, newsletters, etc.). Due to its bias, the party periodicals could not give the voters an objective idea of of electoral process and intra-party tendencies, all the more to form their conscious choices. The electoral practice of party periodicals showed mass inadequacy in solving typical propaganda tasks (declarativism, populism, meeting rhetoric, emphasis on supplementary aspects, etc.). The wide spread practice of the 2012 election campaign was the use of unethical methods of cross-party competition (“jeans” and “smearpiece”) as well as the use of semi-legal and illegal publications for public opinion’ provocations and manipulations.

scholarly journals Social media and democracy: How the Facebook usage patterns of Toronto city councilors influence political engagement

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Political Communication ◽  
Political Engagement ◽  
Small Communities ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
The Public ◽  
Usage Patterns ◽  
Media Platform ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
National Governments

In the early days of the Internet, many political communication theorists held the utopian belief that political actors would use online tools to communicate directly with members of the public, and thereby bolster political engagement and enrich democracy. Unfortunately, studies over the past two decades found that political websites were not usually used to interact directly with the public, but instead were used to simply disseminate information in a one-way information-sharing model. However, the emergence of social media sites presents political actors with the opportunity to interact with the public far more easily than websites had previously allowed. Given the widespread adoption and high usage rates of social media sites, these online resources could potentially open up a space for public discussion about politics and allow political actors to interact directly with members of the public. Literature indicates that this type of shared space is conducive to the kind of civic mindset that leads to higher rates of political engagement. Research on political uses of social media tends to focus on the use of social media engagement. Research on political uses of social media tends to focus on the use of social media within elections, such as the 2008 U.S presidential election, and on the use of social media by national governments. I have chosen instead to examine how a group of municipal councilors in Toronto, Ontario uses social media. These politicians have the greatest need to interact directly with individuals throughout their term of service because municipal councilors are expected to know the members of their ward far more intimately than federal, or even provincial, politicians. My study focuses on the use of Facebook because literature indicates that it is the most political social media platform and that it presents politicians with the greatest opportunity to foster political engagement online. Through analysis of the Facebook pages of Toronto city councilors this study examines the degree to which councilors use Facebook to engage their followers, whether certain citizens are consistently engaged in ongoing political discussions, and whether small communities of politically engaged citizens develop around the Facebook profiles of councilors.

DICTION and the Study of American Politics

2014 ◽  
pp. 444-461 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher F. Karpowitz
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Political Communication ◽  
Political Behavior ◽  
Political Leadership ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Language ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Political World ◽  
Effective Analysis

A powerful tool for content analysis, DICTION allows scholars to illuminate the ideas, perspectives, and linguistic tendencies of a wide variety of political actors. At its best, a tool like DICTION allows scholars not just to describe the features of political language, but also to analyze the causes and the consequences those features in ways that advance our understanding political communication more broadly. Effective analysis involves helping academic audiences understand what the measures being used mean, how the results relate to broader theoretical constructs, and the extent to which findings reveal something important about the political world. This involves exploring both the causes and the consequences of linguistic choices, including by attending closely to how those texts are received by their intended audiences. In this chapter, the authors review ways in which DICTION has been used and might be used to better understand the role of political leadership, the meaning of democracy, and the effects of political language on the political behavior of ordinary citizens.

Blogs and Forums in a Presidential Election Process in Turkey

2010 ◽  
pp. 372-382 ◽  
Author(s):  
Güliz Uluç ◽  
Mehmet Yilmaz ◽  
Umit Isikdag
Keyword(s):  
Political Communication ◽  
Presidential Election ◽  
The Political ◽  
Discussion Forums ◽  
Communication Tool ◽  
Political Blogs ◽  
Political Dialogue ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Online Discussion Forums ◽  
Election Process

Internet forums and weblogs have been institutionalized as an integral part of the political communication system. Political candidates, interest groups, and other political actors increasingly employ the Internet as a communication tool. Weblogs and online discussion forums are recognized as new democratic meeting places. This chapter investigates the role of political blogs and forums in the 2007 presidential election in Turkey and focuses on the interaction between political actors and the citizens. The content of 270 top-rated blogs and 15 discussion forums posted between April and September of 2007 was analyzed. The findings indicate that blogs and forums function as enablers of political dialogue and facilitate political participation and civic interaction. The conclusion is drawn that blogs and forums have emerged as innovative modes of political communication in Turkey resulting in a broad interchange of diverse political opinions in the political arena.

News Media as Gatekeepers, Critics, and Initiators of Populist Communication: How Journalists in Ten Countries Deal with the Populist Challenge

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 476-495 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Wettstein ◽  
Frank Esser ◽  
Anne Schulz ◽  
Dominique S. Wirz ◽  
Werner Wirth
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
News Media ◽  
Public Debate ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Political Factors ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
The People ◽  
The Media ◽  
Comparative Content

In the wake of the recent successes of populist political actors and discussions about its causes in Europe, the contribution of the media has become an issue of public debate. We identify three roles—as gatekeepers, interpreters, and initiators—the media can assume in their coverage of populist actors, populist ideology, and populist communication. A comparative content analysis of nine thousand stories from fifty-nine news outlets in ten European countries shows that both media factors (e.g., tabloid orientation) and political factors (e.g., response of mainstream parties) influence the extent and nature of populism in the media. Although newspapers in most countries do not overrepresent populist actors and tend to evaluate them negatively, we still find abundant populist content in the news. Several media outlets like to present themselves as mouthpieces of the people while, at the same time, cover politicians and parties with antiinstitutional undertones.

Metaphors in political communication

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 201-225
Author(s):  
Pauline Heyvaert ◽  
François Randour ◽  
Jérémy Dodeigne ◽  
Julien Perrez ◽  
Min Reuchamps
Keyword(s):  
Political Communication ◽  
Political Discourse ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Political Affiliation ◽  
Dimensional Model ◽  
Three Dimensional Model ◽  
Metaphor Analysis ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
French Speaking ◽  
Metaphor Use

Abstract This article analyses the use of (deliberate) metaphors in political discourse produced by French-speaking Belgian regional parliamentarians during non-institutional political interviews. The article first investigates if the use of deliberate metaphor limits itself to a particular type of political discourse (i.e. public and institutional political discourse) or if metaphor use is also found in other types of settings (i.e. non-institutional political discourse). Second, the article analyses the variation of deliberate metaphor use between political actors depending on gender, seniority and political affiliation. To this end, the article applies Steen’s (2008) three-dimensional model of metaphor analysis on biographical interviews conducted with French-speaking Belgian regional parliamentarians (RMPs). Our results indicate that RMPs, when using non-deliberate metaphors, mostly rely on source domains such as construction, battle and relationships. This is in contrast with the use of deliberate metaphors, where source domains like sports, nature and container take the upper hand.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document