Electoral campaigns and social networks in times of pandemic: analysis of presidential candidates' activity on twitter and tiktok during the first round of peru's 2021 general elections
| Autor | Álvaro ignacio Montúfar-Calle. Lucía Anastacio-Coello |
| Páginas | 115-142 |
‒ ‒
CAPÍTULO 6
ELECTORAL CAMPAIGNS AND SOCIAL NETWORKS
IN TIMES OF PANDEMIC:
ANALYSIS OF PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES’
ACTIVITY ON TWITTER AND TIKTOK DURING THE
FIRST ROUND OF PERU’S 2021 GENERAL ELECTIONS
ÁLVARO IGNACIO MONTÚFAR-CALLE
Universidad de Piura
LUCÍA ANASTACIO-COELLO
Universidad de Piura
1. INTRODUCTION
COVID-19 lockdowns generated innumerable changes in the way citi-
zens went about their lives. In this context, a significant increase in the
use of social networks in Peru was registered. While 24 million users
were reported in January 2020 (Data Reportal, 2020), when the pan-
demic was still at a relatively early stage, this figure reached 27 million
in January 2021, a growth of 13% (Data Reportal, 2021).
As part of preventive health measures and lockdowns, it was established
that the candidates transmitted their government proposals mainly via
virtual channels (Ministerio de Salud [MINSA], 2021), helping social
networks to become almost exclusive strategic tools, since they enabled
candidates to get close to potential voters and avoid the risk of contagion.
Social networks have become fundamental for presidential campaigns
(Ritzer and Jurgenson, 2010). Politicians increasingly resort to social
networks because they enable multidirectional communication and real-
time messaging, which helps build better communication strategies,
since they can relate directly to voters and pick up popular concerns or
respond to queries (López-Meri, 2016). Raffaele and Chirino (2013)
‒ ‒
claimed that greater presence on social networks would not necessarily
translate into better or effective communication with the electorate.
The use of social networks is continuously growing because of their po-
tential to encourage communication and direct and personal interaction
with citizens, showing a human side of politics (Alonso-Muñoz et al.,
2016). Politicians mainly use social networks to self-promote their cam-
paign activities, mobilize voters, and to criticize their adversaries, the
latter of which increases user interaction (Ballesteros-Herencia and
Gómez-García, 2020).
Social networks are becoming more important with each new election,
according to Corona (2018). Evidence was found in the 2018 campaign
in Colombia, when Gustavo Petro and Iván Duque engaged voters on
Facebook, Twitter and Instagram; the 2018 campaign in Mexico, when
Andrés Manuel López Obrador used social networks to an extent seen
as decisive for his victory; and in Ecuador’s 2021 election, when
Guillermo Lasso decided to turn to TikTok in the second round, aiming
to reach and win over young voters (Barreto and Rivera, 2021). Lasso
won the elections.
These examples show that social networks constitute an increasingly im-
portant part of the political media ecosystem during campaigns. Two
such platforms, Twitter and TikTok, were selected for this study.
Twitter is a microblogging network, where users share messages with a
maximum of 280 characters. This social network stands out for its speed,
reach and brevity, and especially for its ability to make political content
go viral (Martínez and Márques, 2020). Carrasco et al. (2008) wrote that
"Twitter has developed as a tool of persuasion and propaganda in polit-
ical contexts" (p. 68). In Peru, Twitter grew significantly, from 1.24 mil-
lion users in 2020 (Data Reportal, 2020) to 1.55 million in 2021 (Data
Reportal, 2021). Crucially, tweets may use hashtags to amplify potential
meaning because hashtags facilitate specific searches across the net-
work, which makes finding content easier and relate to others, and al-
lows following the conversation on a certain topic, creating a sense of
community through shared interests (Mancera and Pano, 2015). Candi-
dates are facing the challenge of using Twitter as a dialogic tool to
Para continuar leyendo
Solicita tu prueba