The Influence of the Negative Campaign on Facebook: The Role of Political Actors and Citizens in the Use of Criticism and Political Attack in the 2016 Spanish General Elections

Silvia Marcos-García, Laura Alonso-Muñoz and Andreu Casero-Ripollés
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Silvia Marcos-García: Department of Communication Sciences, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Universitat Jaume I de Castelló, Av. Vicent Sos Baynat, s/n, 12071 Castellón de la Plana, Spain
Laura Alonso-Muñoz: Department of Communication Sciences, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Universitat Jaume I de Castelló, Av. Vicent Sos Baynat, s/n, 12071 Castellón de la Plana, Spain
Andreu Casero-Ripollés: Department of Communication Sciences, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Universitat Jaume I de Castelló, Av. Vicent Sos Baynat, s/n, 12071 Castellón de la Plana, Spain

Social Sciences, 2021, vol. 10, issue 10, 1-14

Abstract: Social media has become an essential platform in the field of digital political communication. In the context of accommodating electoral campaigns to digital media and the absence of barriers to freedom of expression existing on these platforms, attacks on political rivals and negative campaigns are increasing on social media. This research analyzes the use of criticism on Facebook by political actors during the electoral campaign and citizens’ reactions to these messages. The sample ( n = 601) contains the publications disseminated on Facebook by political parties and leaders during the electoral campaign of the general elections of 26 June 2016 in Spain. The results show that criticism is an emerging resource in the digital communication strategy of political actors, mainly used by the opposition parties and their candidates, who focus their attacks on the party and leader of the Government. Attacks are mainly focused on the professional side of their rivals, although they also give a central role to emotions. Citizens are attracted to these attacks and are prone to interact with posts that include this resource.

Keywords: negative campaign; criticism; Facebook; Spain; electoral campaign; political communication (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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