Politicians, Social Media, and Digital Publics: Old Rights, New Terrain

Abstract

In this interdisciplinary roundtable discussion, five scholars interested in political communication work through the democratic dilemmas created when privately owned social media platforms are used as digital public squares by elected officials in the United States. This conversation unfolds in the context of ongoing legal cases that challenge politicians’ efforts to block select interlocutors and bar them from participation. We grapple with the tension between politicians’ use of social media to broadcast their own messages as a form of publicity with the desire by some members of the public that politicians be transparent online by allowing the electorate to question or even criticize them. Through this discussion, we weigh the importance of the right to criticize the government and its leaders alongside the realities of contentious content on social media platforms that are rife with abusive content, in a cultural context marked by social inequalities.

Morally Motivated Networked Harassment as Normative Reinforcement

“…One study found that more than half of women 15-29 years censor themselves online to avoid harassment (Veletsianos et al, 2018). Other scholarship has found that female scholars, journalists, and politicians selfcensor themselves online due to both online harassment and the fear of online abuse (Binns, 2017;Chen et al, 2020;Sobieraj et al, 2020), culminating in what Carter Olson and LaPoe (2018) call a "digital Spiral of Silence." Thus, self-censorship is another way in which networked harassment functions as a norm reinforcement technique.…”

The Influence of Political Actors in the Digital Public Debate on Twitter About the Negotiations for the Formation of the Government in Spain

“…The first advantage is enabling these actors to create and share messages autonomously, without needing the media to communicate to many in an interpersonal way, while reaching a wide audience with a single click. Politicians can thus speak directly to their constituents without relying on third parties (Sobieraj et al, 2020). The immediacy, speed, and brevity of this microblogging platform facilitate self-communication focused on the political proposals that make up their electoral program (López-Meri et al, 2017).…”

Gaya Komunikasi Politik Twitter Partai Gerindra

“…Tweet akun twitter @Gerindra Media sosial merupakan wadah yang tidak formal dan bersifat dua arah, tanpa adanya mediator sehingga bisa mengakibatkan pengguna berbicara lebih diluar batas. Kreis dalam (Sobieraj, dkk, 2020:2) menjelaskan bahwa peran sosial media adalah sebagai alat publisitas karena para politisi menggunakannya dengan bertujuan untuk menyebarkan keyakinan politik dan sikap terhadap kebijakan yang ada. Penggunaan media sosial yang dilakukan oleh politisi adalah suatu tindakan yang dilakukan secara strategis dan disengaja.…”