MPs and Audiences on Social Media during Emergencies: Automatic and Manual Content Analyses of Facebook Posts

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.29379/jedem.v10i2.514

Keywords:

Emergencies, Facebook, MPs Facebook Pages, New Media, Social Media.

Abstract

Members of parliament’s (MPs) social media channels are significant arenas for communication between the public and national leaders. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first paper to explore how these channels function during emergencies. We present findings from a mixed-method study of automatic and manual content analysis of a unique dataset composed of all posts on Israeli MPs' Facebook pages during the entire 19th Israeli parliament. We compare scope of posting, engagement with posts, and the content in MPs' Facebook pages during “ordinary" periods and an “emergency” period, focusing on the 2014 Israel/Gaza war. Findings present MPs' social media pages as hubs of interaction between MPs and audiences in emergencies, even more so than during ordinary periods. MPs' social media pages involve significantly more posts (and engagement with posts) during emergencies. In addition, the content in them becomes more emotional, less personal, and focused on the emergency situation and the national leaders responding to it.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Metrics

Metrics Loading ...

Author Biographies

Nili Steinfeld, Ariel University

Head, Digital Communication track, School of Communication, Ariel University

Azi Lev-On, Ariel University

School of Communication, Ariel University

Downloads

Published

20.12.2018

How to Cite

Steinfeld, N., & Lev-On, A. (2018). MPs and Audiences on Social Media during Emergencies: Automatic and Manual Content Analyses of Facebook Posts. JeDEM - EJournal of EDemocracy and Open Government, 10(2), 33–52. https://doi.org/10.29379/jedem.v10i2.514

Issue

Section

Research Papers