Abstract
Why do some politicians actively use social media, while others lag behind? To answer this question, we propose that opposing party politicians, underdogs, and extremists are more likely to become active political tweeters. Research has shown that media attention is generally concentrated on politicians with power; that is, ruling parties and party leaders. We thus hypothesize that politicians marginalized from media attention, namely backbenchers and those from opposing parties, may perceive greater potential benefits from social media. Further, politicians whose ideological positions do not match well with those of major news media (i.e., extremists) may perceive risks in facing tough questions from journalists, as well as the media's gatekeeping process. We thus hypothesize that extremists may perceive greater benefits from using social media, because they can control their message. We tested these hypotheses using data on U.S. Senators’ public communication activities on Twitter and in press releases in 2009–2011 and found strong support.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 305-323 |
| Number of pages | 19 |
| Journal | Policy and Internet |
| Volume | 11 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2019 Jan 1 |
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All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Health(social science)
- Public Administration
- Health Policy
- Computer Science Applications
Cite this
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Why Do Politicians Tweet? Extremists, Underdogs, and Opposing Parties as Political Tweeters. / Hong, Sounman; Choi, Haneul; Kim, Taek Kyu.
In: Policy and Internet, Vol. 11, No. 3, 01.01.2019, p. 305-323.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
TY - JOUR
T1 - Why Do Politicians Tweet? Extremists, Underdogs, and Opposing Parties as Political Tweeters
AU - Hong, Sounman
AU - Choi, Haneul
AU - Kim, Taek Kyu
PY - 2019/1/1
Y1 - 2019/1/1
N2 - Why do some politicians actively use social media, while others lag behind? To answer this question, we propose that opposing party politicians, underdogs, and extremists are more likely to become active political tweeters. Research has shown that media attention is generally concentrated on politicians with power; that is, ruling parties and party leaders. We thus hypothesize that politicians marginalized from media attention, namely backbenchers and those from opposing parties, may perceive greater potential benefits from social media. Further, politicians whose ideological positions do not match well with those of major news media (i.e., extremists) may perceive risks in facing tough questions from journalists, as well as the media's gatekeeping process. We thus hypothesize that extremists may perceive greater benefits from using social media, because they can control their message. We tested these hypotheses using data on U.S. Senators’ public communication activities on Twitter and in press releases in 2009–2011 and found strong support.
AB - Why do some politicians actively use social media, while others lag behind? To answer this question, we propose that opposing party politicians, underdogs, and extremists are more likely to become active political tweeters. Research has shown that media attention is generally concentrated on politicians with power; that is, ruling parties and party leaders. We thus hypothesize that politicians marginalized from media attention, namely backbenchers and those from opposing parties, may perceive greater potential benefits from social media. Further, politicians whose ideological positions do not match well with those of major news media (i.e., extremists) may perceive risks in facing tough questions from journalists, as well as the media's gatekeeping process. We thus hypothesize that extremists may perceive greater benefits from using social media, because they can control their message. We tested these hypotheses using data on U.S. Senators’ public communication activities on Twitter and in press releases in 2009–2011 and found strong support.
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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85062654583&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/poi3.201
DO - 10.1002/poi3.201
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85062654583
VL - 11
SP - 305
EP - 323
JO - Policy and Internet
JF - Policy and Internet
SN - 1944-2866
IS - 3
ER -