Publication
Title
"Indoctrinated by the left!" : how politicians respond to street protest on social media
Author
Abstract
On social media, politicians present themselves on public issues to achieve re-election. Protest provides one opportunity for politicians to do so. In this study, we ask: How do politicians respond to protest on social media? And, which factors determine how politicians react? Building upon classic typologies of politicians' rhetorical strategies, we study Twitter and Facebook posts (N = 8211) of Belgian politicians (N = 225) who respond to protest (N = 124) staged in Brussels (Belgium). Results show that politicians predominantly engage in position taking when responding to protest and rarely engage in advertising, blame attribution, or credit claiming, although latter reactions are more prevalent on Facebook than Twitter. A pattern of how politician features impact rhetorical responsiveness stands out. Executives are more likely to claim credit, opposition politicians are more likely to blame politics, right-wing politicians are more likely to blame demonstrators. Findings lay bare politicians' online protest communication strategy and speak to party-protest interactions.
Language
English
Source (journal)
New media and society. - London
Publication
London : Sage publications ltd , 2023
ISSN
1461-4448
DOI
10.1177/14614448231199396
Volume/pages
(2023) , p. 1-19
ISI
001072076000001
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (publisher's version - intranet only)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Project info
"First we go viral, then we sway the public": How Protest Affects Public Opinion in the Hybrid Media System.
The Persuasive Power of Protest. An Experimental Study of the Effect of Protest Coverage on Citizens and Political Elites.
Publication type
Subject
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 30.10.2023
Last edited 22.11.2023
To cite this reference