Open AccessAnalysis of the Twitter discourse in the 2019 electoral debates in Spain: a comparative algorithmic study
Author(s) -
Sergio Arce García,
Fátima Vila Márquez,
Josep Gascón
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
communication and society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2386-7876
DOI - 10.15581/003.35.1.45-61
Subject(s) - ideology , rest (music) , perspective (graphical) , left wing politics , polarization (electrochemistry) , polarity (international relations) , political science , right wing , sociology , media studies , law , computer science , artificial intelligence , medicine , chemistry , cardiology , cell , genetics , politics , biology
This article analyzes and compares the following of Twitter users during the two electoral debates of the general elections in Spain in April and November 2019. Through the collection of the official hashtags #ElDebateDecisivo (970,706 tweets) and #DebateElectoral (821,521) respectively from 9 am on the day of the debate until 2 am the following day, we analyzed the polarity and basic emotions of the messages posted on the social network using algorithms with R software. A network theory study was also carried out to determine each account’s affiliation to each group. The results show a polarization in the network, with well-defined groups with hardly any relationship with other groups of different ideologies. It is also observed that the entry of a new player, Vox, into the second debate completely alters the rest of the center-right parties, which end up seeing it from a much more negative perspective. This entry does not involve major changes among the left-wing parties, but it does mean an increase in fear.