Addressing Racism, Politics and the Pivotal 2018 Midterm Point: Social Network Analysis of Black Lives Matter Twitter Discourse

Abstract

This study examines Twitter data collected by Netlytic building up to the 2018 midterm election date as well as one month after. We conducted a social network analysis and a semantic textual analysis of the data. Prior research on network discourse of Black Lives Matter, a social movement organically created from a hashtag on social media following the acquittal of Trayvon Martin's killer George Zimmerman, found Black victims of police brutality and systemic racism were victim blamed. This present study maps tweets, showing communication networks formed around Black Lives Matter and what the networks communicated. Through our analysis, eight distinct virtual community networks emerged.

#MeToo, Intersectionality, and Community Conversation Frames: A Social Network Analysis of Midterm Election “Resistance” Tweets

“…Within 24 hours of the #MeToo hashtag appearing, 4.7 million individuals interacted with stories connected to it (CBS News, 2017). Much like this preliminary social network analysis (SNA) on #MeToo, which led us to search for an additional term “resist,” this study also found intersectional, diverse racial as well as LGBTQIA+ groups, and elite groups such as politicians setting policy and entertainers setting a vocal tone on social media, as major groups elevating this hashtag (LaPoe, 2018).…”

“…Extensive bodies of media theory scholarship about mediated framing and connected theories about how the media drive public agendas by directing audience attention and how repeated themes may prime audiences to conceive topics in hegemonic ways show communication content (written, projected, and spoken) is an important variable in political discourses (Althaus &Tewksbury, 2002; Caliendo & McIlwain, 2006; Detenber et al, 2007; McCombs & Shaw, 1972; Mendelberg, 2017; Sevenans et al, 2016). Mapping campaign Twitter accounts and analyzing these variables provides increased understanding for future research provided social media platforms like Twitter continue emerging as significant contributors to political discourse (LaPoe et al, 2022).…”

“…Hemphill and colleagues (2013) found politicians carefully selected hashtags to frame issues, which, in turn, directly influenced their constituents’ and online audiences’ behavior and reactions toward issues. A few high-profile hashtag activism movements, including #BlackLivesMatter and #MeToo, showed an effective hashtag can move not just online groups to change but also push people to take to the streets for protests and organized in-person actions (LaPoe, 2018; LaPoe et al, 2022). In addition, hashtag framing shows how online networks are feeding pre-framed ideas and stories to mainstream media outlets.…”

“…This study builds on previous related research connected to social networks and race and gender. In one case, LaPoe (2018) analyzed the #MeToo hashtag, examining conversations about sexual assault and solidarity. Within 24 hours of the #MeToo hashtag appearing, 4.7 million individuals interacted with stories connected to it (CBS News, 2017).…”