Emotivism Trends in Digital Political Communication: The Influence on the Results of the US Presidential Elections

Belén Casas-Mas (), Martin Fernández Marcellán, José Manuel Robles and Daniel Vélez
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Belén Casas-Mas: Faculty of Media & Communication Science, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Martin Fernández Marcellán: Faculty of Mathematical Science, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
José Manuel Robles: Faculty of Political and Social Science, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Daniel Vélez: Department of Statistics and Operations Research, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain

Social Sciences, 2024, vol. 13, issue 2, 1-17

Abstract: Citizens, organizations and institutions are increasingly making use of digital social networks such as Twitter as a means by which to express their position as regards political topics. However, an increasing amount of academic literature coincides, in that it highlights the emotive and expressive nature of these positions. In other words, for the most part, the political opinions that are publicized are more like backing based on support or rejection (without arguments or motives). In parallel, said expressions have a key emotional element (expressions of a positive or negative affective disposition). This article consists of an analysis that aims, on the one hand, to measure the affective disposition of US citizens as expressed on Twitter during the two most recent electoral campaigns (2016 and 2020). Similarly, we have generated a model that facilitates the measurement of the extent to which the content of the aforementioned messages demonstrates arguments or motives, or lack of. By way of the use of a database for the same Twitter accounts in both elections, we provide very consistent results that highlight the lack of argumentation of the public debate and the notably polarized profile of the affective dispositions shown by participants. We use the thesis of emotivism to give a more significant analytical weighting to this research.

Keywords: emotivism; social network analysis; sentiment analysis; political communication; digital communication; US presidential elections (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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