Analysis of the Twitter discourse in the 2019 electoral debates in Spain: a comparative algorithmic study

This article analyzes and compares the following of Twitter users during the two electoral debates of the general elections in Spain in April and November 2019. Through the collection of the official hashtags #ElDebateDecisivo (970,706 tweets) and #DebateElectoral (821,521) respectively from 9 am on...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Arce-García, S. (Sergio)|||/items/ac653d75-6052-4e51-9314-2e59abfd2499, Vila, F. (Fátima)|||/items/172d23f8-fef7-486f-afad-1cc165950360, Fondevila-Gascón, J.F. (Joan Francesc)|||/items/e5dcacb6-210b-45e0-8032-ea737514859f
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2022
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Navarra
Repositorio:Dadun. Depósito Académico Digital de la Universidad de Navarra
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:dadun.unav.edu:10171/63019
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10171/63019
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Debate electoral
Twitter
emociones
polarización
elecciones
Descripción
Sumario:This article analyzes and compares the following of Twitter users during the two electoral debates of the general elections in Spain in April and November 2019. Through the collection of the official hashtags #ElDebateDecisivo (970,706 tweets) and #DebateElectoral (821,521) respectively from 9 am on the day of the debate until 2 am the following day, we analyzed the polarity and basic emotions of the messages posted on the social network using algorithms with R software. A network theory study was also carried out to determine each account’s affiliation to each group. The results show a polarization in the network, with well-defined groups with hardly any relationship with other groups of different ideologies. It is also observed that the entry of a new player, Vox, into the second debate completely alters the rest of the center-right parties, which end up seeing it from a much more negative perspective. This entry does not involve major changes among the left-wing parties, but it does mean an increase in fear.