Enli, Gunn S., and Hallvard Moe. “Political Networks on Twitter: Tweeting the Queensland State Election Axel Bruns and Tim Highfield.” Social Media and Election Campaigns: Key Tendencies and Ways Forward, Routledge, 2017.
The book chapter focuses on Twitter activities covering the politics of Australian Queensland State elections. The author provides that by comparing federal elections between 2002 and 2010, social media had taken the space of politics in 2010 than in 2002. The Queensland State elections held in 2012 also saw significant use of social media and particularly Twitter for communications. Twitter users used their accounts to discuss the expected election results between two vying candidates belonging to ALP and NLP parties. After monitoring the tweeting activities, the research shows that Twitter users did not directly interact with the candidates by commenting on their posts. They communicated their opinions about the election process regarding both the winning and losing teams.
However, the writers mention that the tweets did not have a major effect on the final elections but on the campaign process. Thus, Twitter had through influencing the campaign process in Queensland caused an impact on the final elections.
The source is a primary one written by credible authors with knowledge and experience in writing books. The book was also published by a reliable publisher thus giving the research more reasons to be accurate. The intended audience for the book chapter is the general public. The chapter is relevant because it shows how campaigning on Twitter influence the final campaign. It is through tweeting and communicating about various vying candidates that the final elections took the specific path. The source is also reliable as it was published not more than five years ago. Furthermore, compared to other sources, this source is equally important because it shed more light on the research topic. Therefore, the source is relevant and reliable as it rhymes with the research topic.
Fadillah, Dani, L. Zhenglin, and Dong Hao. “Social Media and General Elections in Malaysia 2018 and Indonesia 2019.” J. Komun. ISKI vol. 4, no.1 2019, pp.1-8.
The study examines the role of social media in the Malaysia 2018 and Indonesia 2019 elections. In both Malaysia and Indonesia, citizens speculated about the candidacy of the prime minister and president respectively. The guesswork was then taken to social media whereby many users suggested different candidates’ wins. The research evaluates the keywords and terms mostly searched and used in these discussions. The study aimed to find out whether the supposition made affected the selected candidates. In Malaysia, the politicians frequently mentioned on social media platforms did not win the election.
Indeed, the mentioning was interlaced with exposure of corruption ideals and other dirty politics which contributed to the failure of the candidate. Conversely, Indonesians used social media to influence the type of leadership they want. Instead of promoting democracy, the platform users preferred authoritarianism. Consequently, their voice was heard and the democratic candidate lost to authoritarianism. The final remark is that technology users have the power to disregard main media news and draw a revolution to a country’s ruling. Social media when used to expose corruption and demand revolution during a campaign could change the final election outcome.
The study was conducted by a researcher who might have a few years of experience in the field. However, their motivation in doing research is arousing and their point of reporting is excellence. The source is educational as it is written in academic style and its intended audience is the general public. The relevance of this article is to show that technological platforms do more than influence elections but also change ruling systems. Furthermore, the source is non-biased because the authors use borrowed information from various sources and not their opinions. Compared to other sources, this source shed more light than just covering the research topic. The source is relevant are relatable to the research topic because it covers how social media exposes corruption and causes a revolution hence altering election results.
Garrett, R. Kelly. “Social Media’s Contribution to Political Misperceptions in US Presidential Elections.” PloS one vol. 14, no. 3 2019, pp.1-16.
The research conducted by Garrett aimed at investigating how social media contribute to a political misconception, especially in the US elections. High use of social media platforms increases the chances of spreading false information. However, it barely changes the belief the supporters have in their candidate. The study shows that social media users can reject the falsehood of fake news about politicians. During President Obama’s campaign in 2012, social media spread significant misinformation about the vying candidate but that did not change the beliefs of the supporters or the users. There is also evidence that social media can influence political beliefs in America. Indeed, during President Obama’s campaign in 2016, Facebook users promoted accuracy about the candidate’s misunderstood issues.
Therefore, the platforms could be used for positive or negative intentions but barely change the perception of users upon their favorite candidates. The study findings are that between 2012 and 2016, American social media users resisted the endorsement of false news regarding the presidential election. Consequently, social media users have the power to accept or refuse the falsehood of political news. Social media users through the spreading of false and true news about candidates could influence their failure or win.
The source is written by a reliable author, Garrett, who is a personnel in the school of communication at Ohio University. The author targeted the general public but he intended to educate. The study is relevant because it explores the topic under discussion and examines the influence of fake news on social media users. The source is reliable as it is peer-reviewed and was published in less than five years. The information in the article has been evaluated severally, thus providing the most accurate information.
Furthermore, the research findings shed more light on the study topic by investigating the ability of social media users to resist falsehood. Lastly, compared to other sources, this article is equally important. The article is relevant and close to the research topic because it reveals how false or true news about the candidates could lead to their win or failure.
Wilder, Bryan, and Vorobeychik, Yevgeniy. “Controlling Elections Through Social Influence.” arXiv preprint arXiv:1711.08615 2017, pp. 1-19.
A study by Wilder and Vorobeychik explores the control of elections through the use of social media. Social media users may not have the power over the voting process but may influence the outcome. Using social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook, the supporters of a certain candidate could either influence the outcome positively or negatively. They could apply constructive control whereby the candidate wins or destructive control for the candidate to lose.
Either way, social media users spread fake news which alters the opinions and perceptions of the supporters. The type of election control used, either destructive or constructive, help the politicians rig the election outcome. After spreading fake news about a winning or losing candidate, the controlled election results are meant to rhyme with social media information. Therefore, the results look rigid and legit thus reducing speculation. The study investigated the effect of such election control and concluded that election control through social media is a major threat to the integrity of the final results. Thus, the use of social media in the spreading of fake news during the election period can contribute to election rigging.
The authors of the source are reliable because they are educators from the University of California and Vanderbilt. The information targets the general public intending to create awareness about the power of social media. The source is also relevant and reliable because it talks about what happens in social media to influence an election. It also intermarries with the topic hence it is highly relevant. Furthermore, the text was recently published hence making it more reliable. The writing style of the text is academic, meaning that it is accurate and educational. Finally, compared to other sources, this source is more reliable and accurate. The source is relevant because it relates to the research topic in showing how social media could alter final election results through rigging.
