Does political ideology matter in online salience? evidence from social media use by members of the Korean national assembly

In this article, we test whether politicians' ideological positions are associated with their online salience. Using the social media activities of members of the Korean National Assembly, we support the notion that ideologically extreme or distinct politicians may benefit more from using new information technology. We then propose and test two different hypotheses that may explain why this is so. The first, the so-called supply-side explanation, explains that ideologically distinct politicians benefit more because they rely more on these new technologies. The second, the so-called demand-side explanation, is that ideologically distinct politicians benefit more from their use of these technologies than those with moderate views, even if the level of their activities is the same. Our empirical results support both hypotheses, although to a different extent.