Chasing the Digital Wave: International Perspectives on the Growth of Online Campaigning

Gibson, Rachel; Römmele, Andrea; Williamson, Andy

doi:10.1080/19331681.2014.903064

Cited by 37 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…Based on a text analysis model developed specifically for this purpose, we show that politicians and their audiences discuss different topics on social media than those salient among a mass audience. Moreover, politicians use Facebook and Twitter for different purposes, which we relate to the distinct target (Druckman et al, 2010;Gibson et al, 2014;Larsson, 2015;Lilleker et al, 2011;Stromer-Galley, 2000). However, our study does not necessarily contradict previous research, as each Internet application has specific affordances and politicians demonstrate a strategic awareness of various communication arenas.…”

Section: Resultscontrasting

confidence: 50%

“…In a comparison of websites and TV ads, the authors showed that candidates are equally likely to use both media for negative campaigning, implying that the medium and different user groups do not matter much in campaign strategy. Other studies mirrored the rather conservative use of the Web by politicians (e.g., Gibson et al, 2014;Larsson, 2015;Lilleker et al, 2011;Stromer-Galley, 2000).In terms of audience behavior, Althaus and Tewksbury (2002) established that whether news is consumed offline or online affects perceptions of issue importance. The selection of news at the individual level is "filtered" by different media, even when the original source is the same.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Political Communication, 35:50-74, 2018© 2017 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC ISSN: 1058 print / 1091-7675 online DOI: https://doi.org/10. 1080/10584609.2017.1334728 adapt the contents of their messages to the peculiarities of different platforms generates deeper insights into how political communication is shaped by social media.Much research revealed a continuation of the status quo in online campaigning, as politicians mostly replicated traditional messages and campaign modes on their Web presences while limiting engagement with users (Gibson, Römmele, & Williamson, 2014;Larsson, 2015;Lilleker et al, 2011;Stromer-Galley, 2000). New media notwithstanding, it seems imperative for candidates to tailor their online messages toward the preferences of the majority of voters, in line with models of mass communication (Downs, 1957;Druckman, Kifer, & Parkin, 2010).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Election Campaigning on Social Media: Politicians, Audiences, and the Mediation of Political Communication on Facebook and Twitter

Stier¹,

Bleier²,

Lietz³

et al. 2018

Political Communication

313

100

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Although considerable research has concentrated on online campaigning, it is still unclear how politicians use different social media platforms in political communication. Focusing on the German federal election campaign 2013, this article investigates whether election candidates address the topics most important to the mass audience and to which extent their communication is shaped by the characteristics of Facebook and Twitter. Based on open-ended responses from a representative survey conducted during the election campaign, we train a human-interpretable Bayesian language model to identify political topics. Applying the model to social media messages of candidates and their direct audiences, we find that both prioritize different topics than the mass audience. The analysis also shows that politicians use Facebook and Twitter for different purposes. We relate the various findings to the mediation of political communication on social media induced by the particular characteristics of audiences and sociotechnical environments.Keywords cross-media analysis, language models, online campaigning, social media, text analysis Social media have become ubiquitous communication channels for candidates during election campaigns. Platforms like Facebook and Twitter enable candidates to directly reach out to voters, mobilize supporters, and influence the public agenda. These fundamental changes in political communication therefore present election candidates with a widened range of strategic choices. Should candidates address the topics most important to a mass audience? Should they tailor their messages to the specific habits and audiences on social media platforms? Although academic research on social media campaigning has flourished in the past several years (Boulianne, 2016;Jungherr, 2016b), it is still unclear which topics politicians address on these platforms, since previous research mostly concentrated on meta data generated by the use of communication conventions such as retweets, @-mentions, likes, or hashtags. Understanding the ways in which politicians Sebastian Stier, Arnim Bleier, and Haiko Lietz are Postdoctoral Researchers, and Markus Strohmaier is a Scientific Director at GESIS -Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences.Address correspondence to Dr. Sebastian Stier, Department Computational Social Science, GESIS -Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences, Unter Sachsenhausen 6-8, Köln, D-50667. E-mail: sebastian.stier@gesis.org Color versions of one or more of the figures in the article can be found online at www. tandfonline.com/UPCP. Political Communication, 35:50-74, 2018© 2017 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC ISSN: 1058 print / 1091-7675 online DOI: https://doi.org/10. 1080/10584609.2017.1334728 adapt the contents of their messages to the peculiarities of different platforms generates deeper insights into how political communication is shaped by social media.Much research revealed a continuation of the status quo in online campaigning, as politicians mostly replicated traditional messages and campaign mo...

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Section: Resultscontrasting

confidence: 50%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Election Campaigning on Social Media: Politicians, Audiences, and the Mediation of Political Communication on Facebook and Twitter

Stier¹,

Bleier²,

Lietz³

et al. 2018

Political Communication

313

100

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show abstract

“…Websites, blogs and email offer parties and candidates new opportunities to reach out and interact with voters. More recently, the scholarly attention shifted to the so-called social media or web campaigning 2.0 (Gibson, Römmele, & Williamson, 2014;Lilleker et al, 2011). Fueled by the success of Obama's 2008 social media campaign, the advent of social media was greeted with optimism (Harfoush, 2009). Gurus and media experts alike speculated that social media could be game-changers for modern day politics, influencing the dynamics of election campaigns.…”

Section: Theory and Research Questionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Who is leading the campaign charts? Comparing individual popularity on old and new media

Aelst

Erkel

D’heer

et al. 2016

Information, Communication & Society

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“…Enli and Moe, 2013;Gibson et al, 2014). A growing body of research gives insight into which politicians are most likely to use social media in their campaign and for what purpose Facebook and Twitter are used (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Policy Considerations on Facebook: Agendas, Coherence, and Communication Patterns in the 2011 Danish Parliamentary Elections

Dalen¹,

Fazekas

Klemmensen

et al. 2015

Journal of Information Technology & Politics

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A c c e p t e d M a n u s c r i p t 2 and Public Management ABSTRACT Given the importance of issue competition in a West European context and the growing use of Facebook in elections, this paper studies how politicians use Facebook to shape the campaign agenda. We analyze the issues addressed in 6388 Facebook posts by candidates in the Danish 2011 parliamentary election. A limited share of Facebook updates is dedicated to issues. TheFacebook agenda did not respond to standings in the polls, nor to the media agenda or public agenda. Comparing issue engagement of new candidates and re-running candidates we find that the Facebook campaign agenda is not simply politics as usual.

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Chasing the Digital Wave: International Perspectives on the Growth of Online Campaigning

Cited by 37 publications

References 14 publications

Election Campaigning on Social Media: Politicians, Audiences, and the Mediation of Political Communication on Facebook and Twitter

Election Campaigning on Social Media: Politicians, Audiences, and the Mediation of Political Communication on Facebook and Twitter

Who is leading the campaign charts? Comparing individual popularity on old and new media

Policy Considerations on Facebook: Agendas, Coherence, and Communication Patterns in the 2011 Danish Parliamentary Elections

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