Far-Right Digital Activism in Polarized Contexts: A Comparative Analysis of Engagement in Hashtag Wars
| Autor: | Chagas, Viktor, Carreiro, Rodrigo, Santos, Nina, Popolin, Guilherme |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2022 |
| Předmět: |
Politikwissenschaft
Publizistische Medien Journalismus Verlagswesen Political science News media journalism publishing Jair Bolsonaro astroturfing digital activism far-rights hashtag wars political polarization politische Willensbildung politische Soziologie politische Kultur Medieninhalte Aussagenforschung interaktive elektronische Medien Political Process Elections Political Sociology Political Culture Media Contents Content Analysis Interactive electronic Media Brasilien Präsident Regierung Polarisierung Digitale Medien rechtsextreme Partei politische Kommunikation Soziale Medien staatliche Einflussnahme Brazil president government polarization digital media right-wing extremist party political communication social media exertion of government pressure |
| Zdroj: | Media and Communication, 10, 4, 42-55, Protesting While Polarized: Digital Activism in Contentious Times |
| Druh dokumentu: | Zeitschriftenartikel<br />journal article |
| ISSN: | 2183-2439 |
| DOI: | 10.17645/mac.v10i4.5622 |
| Popis: | Literature on influence operations highlights the coordinated actions of digital activists aimed at persuading audiences. Scholars have discussed many angles of this behavior and emphasized repertoires based on specific contentious actions. However, little is discussed about how these disputes allow us to apprehend different models of political action in polarized contexts. On a whole, studies have not considered a broader understanding of digital activism performed by supporters of far-right governments. How does the far-right spread its agenda and support the government in “hashtag wars”? What kind of strategies are employed? This study seeks to compare patterns of coordinated behavior in hashtags created by supporters and detractors of the Bolsonaro government in Brazil that occupied the trending topics on Twitter. The statistical analysis is based on 6.1 million tweets taken from 20 political hashtags collected over a three-month period from May to July 2020. Data was scraped using Twitter’s Search API v3.0 for academic use. We analyzed the overall volume and peaks of tweets, the users they engaged with, and their network of influence, as well as the length of each hashtag. The results show an intense use of hashtag activism by Bolsonaro supporters, with users struggling for greater prominence in social media in the face of political events in Brazil. This article sheds light on how the far-right appropriates digital platforms to promote the government’s public image in times of political tension and how it promotes coordinated actions aimed at framing social media audiences. |
| Databáze: | SSOAR – Social Science Open Access Repository |
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