Building Political Hashtag Communities: A Multiplex Network Analysis of U.S. Senators on Twitter during the 2022 Midterm Elections
This study examines how U.S. senators strategically used hashtags to create political communities on Twitter during the 2022 Midterm Elections. We propose a way to model topic-based implicit interactions among Twitter users and introduce the concept of <i>Building Political Hashtag Communities...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Computation |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-3197/11/12/238 |
| _version_ | 1797381495246028800 |
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| author | Yunus Emre Orhan Harun Pirim Yusuf Akbulut |
| author_facet | Yunus Emre Orhan Harun Pirim Yusuf Akbulut |
| author_sort | Yunus Emre Orhan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This study examines how U.S. senators strategically used hashtags to create political communities on Twitter during the 2022 Midterm Elections. We propose a way to model topic-based implicit interactions among Twitter users and introduce the concept of <i>Building Political Hashtag Communities</i> (BPHC). Using multiplex network analysis, we provide a comprehensive view of elites’ behavior. Through AI-driven topic modeling on real-world data, we observe that, at a general level, Democrats heavily rely on BPHC. Yet, when disaggregating the network across layers, this trend does not uniformly persist. Specifically, while Republicans engage more intensively in BPHC discussions related to immigration, Democrats heavily rely on BPHC in topics related to identity and women. However, only a select group of Democratic actors engage in BPHC for topics on labor and the environment—domains where Republicans scarcely, if at all, participate in BPHC efforts. This research contributes to the understanding of digital political communication, offering new insights into echo chamber dynamics and the role of politicians in polarization. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T20:52:23Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0ae98ffba4134348bbcbf70e7c633b2b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2079-3197 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T20:52:23Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Computation |
| spelling | doaj.art-0ae98ffba4134348bbcbf70e7c633b2b2023-12-22T14:01:16ZengMDPI AGComputation2079-31972023-12-01111223810.3390/computation11120238Building Political Hashtag Communities: A Multiplex Network Analysis of U.S. Senators on Twitter during the 2022 Midterm ElectionsYunus Emre Orhan0Harun Pirim1Yusuf Akbulut2Center for the Study of Digital Society, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND 58102, USAIndustrial and Manufacturing Engineering, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND 58102, USAIndustrial and Manufacturing Engineering, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND 58102, USAThis study examines how U.S. senators strategically used hashtags to create political communities on Twitter during the 2022 Midterm Elections. We propose a way to model topic-based implicit interactions among Twitter users and introduce the concept of <i>Building Political Hashtag Communities</i> (BPHC). Using multiplex network analysis, we provide a comprehensive view of elites’ behavior. Through AI-driven topic modeling on real-world data, we observe that, at a general level, Democrats heavily rely on BPHC. Yet, when disaggregating the network across layers, this trend does not uniformly persist. Specifically, while Republicans engage more intensively in BPHC discussions related to immigration, Democrats heavily rely on BPHC in topics related to identity and women. However, only a select group of Democratic actors engage in BPHC for topics on labor and the environment—domains where Republicans scarcely, if at all, participate in BPHC efforts. This research contributes to the understanding of digital political communication, offering new insights into echo chamber dynamics and the role of politicians in polarization.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-3197/11/12/238multiplex networkhashtag activismUS SenateChat GPT-4 |
| spellingShingle | Yunus Emre Orhan Harun Pirim Yusuf Akbulut Building Political Hashtag Communities: A Multiplex Network Analysis of U.S. Senators on Twitter during the 2022 Midterm Elections Computation multiplex network hashtag activism US Senate Chat GPT-4 |
| title | Building Political Hashtag Communities: A Multiplex Network Analysis of U.S. Senators on Twitter during the 2022 Midterm Elections |
| title_full | Building Political Hashtag Communities: A Multiplex Network Analysis of U.S. Senators on Twitter during the 2022 Midterm Elections |
| title_fullStr | Building Political Hashtag Communities: A Multiplex Network Analysis of U.S. Senators on Twitter during the 2022 Midterm Elections |
| title_full_unstemmed | Building Political Hashtag Communities: A Multiplex Network Analysis of U.S. Senators on Twitter during the 2022 Midterm Elections |
| title_short | Building Political Hashtag Communities: A Multiplex Network Analysis of U.S. Senators on Twitter during the 2022 Midterm Elections |
| title_sort | building political hashtag communities a multiplex network analysis of u s senators on twitter during the 2022 midterm elections |
| topic | multiplex network hashtag activism US Senate Chat GPT-4 |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-3197/11/12/238 |
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