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Mobilizing or chasing voters on Facebook? Analysing echo-chamber effects at the UK parliamentary general election 2019

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posted on 2023-06-10, 05:27 authored by Samuel PowerSamuel Power, Ben Mason
Alongside the growth of online campaigning has been an increased anxiety around its effects on democratic institutions and processes. Many have suggested that in a (new) media environment that privileges choice, citizens will increasingly segment themselves into echo chambers, tuning out dissenting voices. But the debate on the existence of echo chambers is mixed, and the extent to which political parties campaign to easily persuadable (and pre-disposed) electorates is unclear. In this article, we present a case study of the Facebook campaign activity of the Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats at the UK’s parliamentary general election in 2019. Utilising an analysis of the Facebook Ad Archive’s Graph Application Programming Interface (API), we find that political parties do not consistently campaign to their easily persuadable electorates—often chasing votes as much as they mobilise supporters. The evidence that parties campaign to specific echo chambers online is therefore, at best, mixed.

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Published version

Journal

Parliamentary Affairs

ISSN

0031-2290

Publisher

Oxford University Press (OUP)

Page range

gsab043 1-21

Department affiliated with

  • Politics Publications

Full text available

  • Yes

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2022-11-14

First Open Access (FOA) Date

2022-11-14

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2022-11-11

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