Digital Public Sphere and Geography: The Influence of Physical Location on Twitter’s Political Conversation
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Title
Digital Public Sphere and Geography: The Influence of Physical Location on Twitter’s Political ConversationDate
2020Publisher
CogitatioISSN
2183–2439Bibliographic citation
Casero-Ripollés, A., Micó-Sanz, J., & Díez-Bosch, M. (2020). Digital Public Sphere and Geography: The Influence of Physical Location on Twitter’s Political Conversation. Media and Communication, 8(4), 96-106. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.17645/mac.v8i4.3145Type
info:eu-repo/semantics/articlePublisher version
https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/3145Version
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionSubject
Abstract
Social media has instituted new parameters for the political conversation in the digital public sphere. Previous research had
identified several of these new phenomena: political polarisation, hate speech discourses, ... [+]
Social media has instituted new parameters for the political conversation in the digital public sphere. Previous research had
identified several of these new phenomena: political polarisation, hate speech discourses, and fake news, among others.
However, little attention has been paid to the users’ geographical location, specifically to the role location plays in political
discussion on social media, and to its further implications in the digital public sphere. A priori, we might think that on
the digital landscape geographical restrictions no longer condition political debate, allowing increasingly diverse users to
participate in, and influence, the discussion. To analyse this, machine learning techniques were used to study Twitter’s political conversation about the negotiation process for the formation of the government in Spain that took place between
2015 and 2016. A big data sample of 127,3 million tweets associated with three Spanish cities (Madrid, Barcelona, and
Valencia) was used. The results show that the geographical location of the users directly affects the political conversation
on Twitter, despite the dissolution of the physical restrictions that the online environment favours. Demographics, cultural
factors, and proximity to the centres of political power are factors conditioning the structure of digital political debate.
These findings are a novel contribution to the design of more effective political campaigns and strategies, and provide a
better understanding of the dynamics of the digital public sphere provided by Twitter. [-]
Description
This article is part of the issue “The Ongoing Transformation of the Digital Public Sphere” edited by Emiliana De Blasio
(LUISS University, Italy), Marianne Kneuer (Hildesheim University, Germany), Wolf J. Schünemann ... [+]
This article is part of the issue “The Ongoing Transformation of the Digital Public Sphere” edited by Emiliana De Blasio
(LUISS University, Italy), Marianne Kneuer (Hildesheim University, Germany), Wolf J. Schünemann (Hildesheim University,
Germany) and Michele Sorice (LUISS University, Italy). [-]
Is part of
Media and Communication 2020, Volume 8, Issue 4.Investigation project
CSO2017–88620-PRights
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
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