From the extreme to the mainstream? How do right-wing politicians use social media platforms

Abstract

The thesis examines how far-right ideology appears mainstream on the Social Media and how the use of Social Media platforms facilitate and amplify the Right-wing politicians’ discourse online. The study compares communication on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube employed by twenty-eight currently elected American and British right-wing political actors retrieved in a four weeks period based on seasonality criteria from 2018 to 2019. Content analysis was conducted on politicians’ social media statements (N=2,454) to determine the most dominant platform and politicians’ discussion theme and it also presents a quantified overview of the level of interaction, frequency, and content originality. Findings indicate that Twitter is the dominant platform for communication due to its proximity and fast-paced nature with Politics be the most preferred theme discussed by politicians. The degree of interaction is relatively low and ranges from fifty to two hundred reactions whereas the level of statements' frequency is equally dispersed and timely consistent. Lastly, it was observed that politicians produce original content. In the light of the conclusion, it can be said that politicians leveraged the advantages of Social Network Sites to disseminate information and set their political agenda.