Effect of Populist Campaign Communication on Citizen Engagement in Social Media

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this research is to investigate the effects of populist campaign communication by political actors on social media, particularly focusing on the period before an election. The study aims to understand how these communications on platforms like Facebook and Twitter influence citizen engagement, examining both populist and non-populist messages. Theory: This study integrates theories from political science, sociology, and communication to examine the impact of populist campaign communication on citizen engagement on social media platforms. It employs perspectives from political communication, such as the populist dichotomy between "the people" and "the elite" , psychological frameworks like Social Identity Theory to explain group dynamics and attraction to populist messages. Additionally, the Civic Voluntarism Model are utilized to understand people are attracted to populist messages. Method: The research employs a quantitative content analysis of 918 social media posts from four political actors—two each from the United States and the United Kingdom—during their respective election campaigns. Engagement metrics such as likes, shares, and comments were recorded for each post. Populist messages were identified using predefined categories, allowing the study to measure the frequency and impact of populist versus non-populist content across platforms. Findings: The findings of the study indicate that populist campaign communication significantly impacts social media engagement on platforms like Facebook and Twitter. Contrary to initial expectations, Twitter proved more effective in generating engagement than Facebook. Additionally, government leaders employed populist messaging more frequently and received higher engagement than opposition leaders. Populist messages consistently outperformed non-populist content in terms of user engagement.