Social Media and Politics

Latest Episodes:

The Cultural Sociology of Political Performance, Icons, and Social Media, with Prof. Jeffrey Alexander May 16, 2021

Show notes

Jeffrey Alexander, Professor of Sociology at Yale University, discusses his cultural sociology approach to political performance and cultural icons. We start out with the concept of fusion, and how political actors work to achieve it through the elements of political performance. Then, we turn to a discussion of objects, affordances, and the power of political icons.

Here's some extra reading on the topics we cover in the episode:
Cultural Pragmatics: Social Performance Between Ritual and Strategy (2004)

The Performativity of Objects (2020)

Digital Media Infrastructures and Tech Platforms, with Dr. Jean-Christophe Plantin May 02, 2021

Show notes

Dr. Jean-Christophe Plantin, Associate Professor in Media and Communications at the London School of Economics, explains the concept of media infrastructures.

We discuss Dr. Plantin's research on digital platforms, infrastructures, and how tech giants like Facebook and Google increasingly blend those two concepts. We also discuss the infrastructure of WeChat, and get into Dr. Plantin's ongoing work into the concept of programmable infrastructures - which explores how the hardware of the tech industry is becoming increasingly disagreggated and modular.

Check out Dr. Plantin's recent talk at Sciences Po for more details on programmable infrastructures.

And the articles we discuss in the episode:

Digital Media Infrastructures: Pipes, Platforms, and Politics (2018)

Infrastructure Studies Meet Platform Studies in the Age of Google and Facebook (2018)

WeChat as Infrastructure: The Techno-Nationalist Shaping of Chinese Digital Platforms (2019)

Deliberation in Practice and Pandemics, with Ieva Česnulaitytė Apr 18, 2021

Show notes

Ieva Česnulaitytė, Policy Analyst at the OECD, discusses her and her colleagues’ research on representative deliberative processes. We break down some of the key models of deliberative processes, when they tend to be used, and how their success can be measured.
We also discuss how the coronavirus pandemic has moved deliberative processes online. As social distancing limits the ability for citizens to attend in-person events, how are deliberative processes being carried out?
Here's the report we discuss in the episode - Innovative Citizen Participation and New Democratic Institutions: Catching the Deliberative Wave.

And the op-ed in Nature discussing online deliberation during the pandemic.

Social Media Influencers and Political Campaigns, with Madeline V. Twomey Mar 28, 2021

Show notes

Madeline V. Twomey, President at Rufus and Mane, discusses how social media influencers can benefit political campaigns (and vice versa). Madeline forged digital influencer partnerships for Joe Biden's presidential campaign and inauguration. She shares her experiences working with influencer programs and her thoughts on best practices moving forward.
We talk about the value that influencers can provide to campaigns, how their working relationship looks like in practice, and how storytelling can help non-political influencers break into politics

Here's Madeline's Medium post discussing her 10 lessons from the Biden campaign.

Check out the latest newsletter, if you're curious about what's coming next on the pod!

Digital Politics in Canada: Parties, Memes, and the Courts, with Dr. Tamara Small Feb 21, 2021

Show notes

Dr. Tamara A. Small, Associate Professor in Political Science at the University of Guelph, discusses her research on social media and politics in Canada. We start out with her latest edited volume Digital Politics in Canada: Promises and Realities (2020, University of Toronto Press).

We then dive into Dr. Small's research on Canadian party leaders' use of Twitter, citizens' sharing of memes about Stephen Harper and Justin Trudeau, and how Canadian courts use social media. We also cover how journalists live-tweet about court cases, and the Canadian courts' struggle to adapt during Covid-19.

Here's the full list of studies discused in the episode:

Digital Politics in Canada: Promises and Realities (2020)

What the Hashtag? A Content Analysis of Canadian Politics on Twitter (2011)

Online Negativity in Canada: Do Canadian Party Leaders Attack on Twitter? (2018)

Trolling Stephen Harper: Internet Memes as Online Activism (2019)

“Justin Trudeau – I Don’t Know Her”: An Analysis of Leadership Memes of Justin Trudeau (2020)

Tweet Justice: The Canadian Court’s Use of Social Media (2020)

Play-by-Play Justice: Tweeting Criminal Trials in the Digital Age (2020)

Trial by Zoom? The Response to COVID-19 by Canada's Courts (2020)

Information Theory, Algorithms, and Political Polarization, with Prof. Martin Hilbert Feb 07, 2021

Show notes

Martin Hilbert, Professor of Communication at UC-Davis, discusses his research on algorithms and polarization. Prof. Hilbert introduces information theory and how it can be applied to studying the transfer of emotions via algorithms. We break down some of Prof. Hilbert's recent studies, as well as his current thinking around detaching from social algorithms.

The studies discussed in the episode:

Behavioral Experiments With Social Algorithms: An Information Theoretic Approach to Input-Output Conversions

Do Search Algorithms Endanger Democracy? An Experimental Investigation of Algorithm Effects on Political Polarization

Communicating with Algorithms: A Transfer Entropy Analysis of Emotions-based Escapes from Online Echo Chambers

Prof. Hilbert's seven part Medium series on Social Media Distancing.

Digital Ads for Political Mobilization and Persuasion, with Nick Ahamed Jan 24, 2021

Show notes

Nick Ahamed, Director of Analytics at Priorities USA, shares his research on the effectiveness of digital ads for increasing voter turnout and support for Democrats. We discuss the field and survey experiments that Priorities USA has been running to find the optimal messaging strategies, targeting approaches, and treatment lengths for political social media ads during elections.

2020 Year in Review! Social Media and Politics, with Dr. Anamaria Dutceac Segesten Dec 20, 2020

Show notes

Dr. Anamaria Dutceac Segesten joins for the 5th Annual Social Media and Politics Year in Review!
We answer listener questions and present six gifts, each representing big events that shaped social media and politics this year.
25:18 - Platform Year in Review Reports
53:08 - Platforms and Activism (Belarus and Thailand)
1:16:26 - Political Ad Effectiveness
1:38:00 - Platform Regulation (Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act)
2:02:31 - Tweets from the Dead
2:17:00 - Platform Fragmentation
Here's a list of each platform's year in review reports:
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google, Reddit, Reddit UK, Reddit Moderators, Pornhub Debate Night

Other supplementary material:

Acronym's 'Haha Ratio'

Priorities USA's "Wreck" Ad
Digital Services Act
Margarethe Vestager on the Digital Services Act
Study Modelling Dead Social Media Accounts
Tufts Research on Youth and Political Engagement
Pew Research on Social Media and Persuasion

Audience Development, Online Political Journalism, and Social Media, with Sofia Diogo Mateus Nov 29, 2020

Show notes

Sofia Diogo Mateus, Audience Development Editor at Politico Europe, discusses the role of social media in online political journalism. We talk about the importance of audience development, the tools used to assist in online publishing and measuring engagement, and the benefits and pitfalls of user generated content (UGC). We also discuss Sofia's work as Head of Facebook at Deutsche Welle, strategies around content moderation, and the value of reporting political news for international audiences.

Click here to view the Social Media Producer job posting at Politico Europe.
And here to sign up to Tom Moylan's newsletter!

Incivility, Intolerance, and Misinformation Sharing on Social Media and News Websites, with Dr. Patricía Rossini Nov 15, 2020

Show notes

Dr. Patricía Rossini, Derby Fellow in the Department of Communication and Media at the University of Liverpool, discusses her latest research on informal political talk online. We break down differences between incivility and intolerance in online discussions, as well as misinformation sharing across Facebook and WhatsApp.

The two studies we discuss in the episode are:

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