Rhetoric of parliamentary disinformation on Twitter

Campos-Domínguez, Eva, Esteve-Del-Valle, Marc and Renedo-Farpón, Cristina Rhetoric of parliamentary disinformation on Twitter. Comunicar, 2022, vol. 30, n. 72, pp. 47-58. [Journal article (Paginated)]

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English abstract

Democracy is based on individuals’ ability to give their opinions freely. To do this, they must have access to a multitude of reliable information sources, and this greatly depends on the characteristics of their media environments. Today, one of the main issues individuals face is the significant amount of disinformation circulating through social networks. This study focuses on parliamentary disinformation. It examines how parliamentarians contribute to generating information disorder in the digital public space. Through an exploratory content analysis ? a descriptive content analysis of 2,307 messages posted on Twitter accounts of parliamentary spokespeople and representatives of the main list of each political party in the Spanish Lower House of Parliament ? we explore disinformation rhetoric. The results allow us to conclude that, while the volume of messages shared by parliamentarians on issues susceptible to disinformation is relatively low (14% of tweets), both the themes of the tweets (COVID-19, sex-based violence, migrants or LGBTI), as well as their tone and argumentative and discursive lines, contribute to generating distrust through institutional criticism or their peers. The study deepens current knowledge of the disinformation generated by political elites, key agents of the construction of polarising narratives.

Spanish abstract

La democracia se basa en la capacidad de los individuos para generar libremente sus opiniones. Para hacerlo, necesitan tener acceso a una pluralidad de fuentes y contenidos veraces de información, y este acceso depende, en gran medida, de las características de sus entornos mediáticos. Uno de los principales problemas de la sociedad actual es el elevado volumen de desinformación que circula a través de las redes sociales. Este trabajo se centra en la desinformación parlamentaria. Observa si y cómo los parlamentarios contribuyen a generar desorden informativo en el espacio público digital. Mediante un análisis exploratorio del contenido de 2.307 mensajes publicados en Twitter por portavoces parlamentarios y representantes de la lista principal de cada grupo en el Congreso de los Diputados en España, se estudian las retóricas de desinformación. Los resultados permiten concluir que, si bien el volumen de mensajes de desinformación es relativamente bajo (14% de los tweets), tanto las temáticas (COVID-19, violencia de género, migrantes o colectivo LGTBI), como el tono y las líneas discursivas de los tweets conforman pautas que contribuyen al desorden informativo, generando desconfianza en las instituciones y entre los propios representantes parlamentarios. El estudio ahonda en el conocimiento de la desinformación generada por las élites políticas, sujetos clave en la gestación de narrativas polarizadoras.

Item type: Journal article (Paginated)
Keywords: Disinformation; Twitter; MPs; political communication; COVID-19; social minorities; Desinformación; Twitter; parlamentarios; comunicación política; COVID-19; minorías sociales
Subjects: B. Information use and sociology of information > BJ. Communication
G. Industry, profession and education.
G. Industry, profession and education. > GH. Education.
Depositing user: Alex Ruiz
Date deposited: 23 Jul 2022 18:36
Last modified: 23 Jul 2022 18:36
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10760/43428

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