UvA PhD student analyzes politicians’ behavior on Twitter
Who is going to govern with whom? That is the question in the run-up to the elections for the House of Representatives on November 22nd. Twitter could offer a glimpse into the upcoming cabinet formation. “Dutch Twitter politics shows how politicians interact.”
This coming Tuesday, Livia van Vliet will receive her doctorate on her dissertation entitled Digital Soapboxes: Analyzing Twitter Politics across 26 Countries, an analysis of the political soap opera taking place on Twitter. In her dissertation, she analyzes the behavior on Twitter of parliamentarians from some 26 countries, including from the European Parliament. Folia spoke to Van Vliet in the days leading up to her doctoral defense.
How would you define Twitter politics?
“Twitter, now X, has a great influence on how politics is conducted and how political elites, such as politicians and members of parliament, communicate with the public. In this regard, Twitter can be characterized as soundbite communication or as a platform used for concise, efficient, and direct communication in politics.”
“For my research, I quantified retweets, mentions, and the content of tweets to get an idea of the European political landscape. I looked at how often politicians interacted and what topics they talked about. So Twitter politics is about how politicians interact on Twitter, what tweets they approve, and tweet-content.”
What does that say about the political landscape in Europe?
“My findings show how Twitter is used by parliamentarians. Twitter is a platform where politicians can seek and influence public opinion and serves as a means for them to participate in public discussions and ensure people are aware of issues and debates. Members of the European Parliament in particular behave strategically on Twitter. They retweet with comments on each other's views when they agree and communicate among themselves more often.”
“This was illustrated well at the local level by Brexit. Theresa May (Conservative Party), the former prime minister of the UK, tried to negotiate the terms of the U.K.'s departure from the European Union (EU). There were clear differences in how the left-wing Labor Party and the right-wing Conservative Party discussed the terms of the Brexit deal on Twitter. The Conservative Party was for, the Labor Party against Brexit. So their Twitter politics could be translated almost one-to-one into how the politicians ended up acting in public.”
On November 22nd there will be elections to the Dutch House of Representatives. Can you say something about Dutch Twitter politics?
“Yes, absolutely. Originally, the research focused on three countries: the United States, the U.K., and the Netherlands. Dutch Twitter politics showed clear patterns in the way politicians interacted, previous research showed. In 2017, politicians in the Netherlands frequently retweeted or mentioned each other, with the exception of one party, the PVV. Politicians at the time excluded the PVV from political debate on Twitter, which was also visible in the Lower House: Most parties disagreed with Geert Wilders. This fact was very clearly visible on Twitter and thus a rare finding compared to other data from Twitter, a pattern that also prompted us to further expand our research to other countries.”
“So the political landscape can certainly be interpreted using Twitter data. It can give an indication of ‘who wants to govern with whom.’ You have to be careful, though, because algorithms can promote the spread of certain content. This can affect the information voters receive and how political messages are disseminated. This applies not only to platforms like Twitter but also to TikTok and LinkedIn, for example. Politicians use these platforms in a targeted way to reach different demographic groups and voters.”
Livia van Vliet will receive her doctorate on Tuesday, October 31st at 1:00 p.m. for her dissertation “Digital Soapboxes: Analyzing Twitter Politics across 26 Countries.” The defense will take place in the Agnietenkapel and is free to attend. You can also attend online via this link.
