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Understanding Political Communication and Polarisation: A Case Study of the Colombian President’s X Utilisation

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Disinformation in Open Online Media (MISDOOM 2024)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 15175))

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Abstract

The shape of social media platforms has transformed political communication, particularly how political leaders engage with the public and influence opinion. This paper explores the dynamics of Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s use of X, formerly known as Twitter, to comprehend the transmission of digital political polarisation through political posts. The study examined two months’ worth of posts using a deductive coding method, applying the tactics of positive self-presentation and negative other-presentation identified by previous research. The analysis revealed a significant use of polarising posts, with 61% of President Petro’s posts employing either positive frames, negative ones, or both. These findings provide insight into the techniques used to create political divisions on social media platforms and contribute to ongoing discussions in the field of political communication studies.

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Acknowledgements

This research article received assistance from the Linterna Verde organisation, which shared the post count during the first year of Petro’s government.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Information Systems, University of Münster, Leonardo-Campus 3, 48149, Münster, Germany

    María José González-Méndez & Niklas Kloth

Authors
  1. María José González-Méndez
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  2. Niklas Kloth
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to María José González-Méndez .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands

    Mike Preuss

  2. University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands

    Agata Leszkiewicz

  3. University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada

    Jean-Christopher Boucher

  4. King's College London, London, UK

    Ofer Fridman

  5. University of Münster, Münster, Germany

    Lucas Stampe

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González-Méndez, M.J., Kloth, N. (2024). Understanding Political Communication and Polarisation: A Case Study of the Colombian President’s X Utilisation. In: Preuss, M., Leszkiewicz, A., Boucher, JC., Fridman, O., Stampe, L. (eds) Disinformation in Open Online Media. MISDOOM 2024. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 15175. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-71210-4_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-71210-4_8

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-71210-4

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