From Hashtags to Ballots

Social Media's Role in the Recent Dutch Elections

Team Members

Facilitators: Eveline Van Duffel, Reinier Kist, Richard Rogers, Rik Wassens, Karel Smouter Students: Alissa Drieduite, Isa Sauer, Joep de Groot, Maud Vroemen, Max van Veen, Samme Kors.

Links

Poster: https://www.figma.com/file/JAV3esSETUV25YxNRtJ5Gi/Wilders-of-Milders?type=design&node-id=0%3A1&mode=design&t=0se609WcMkNBnxku-1.

Datasets:

• Instagram: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ZogbghCYZWBeZBt_gp6Gc-XjjbNd-Qj8?usp=drive_link.
• TikTok: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1mnfurBB15wBNZ4C2g48XyHHGSEV_CUUD?usp=drive_link.
• Twitter: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1AhefFO8mp4fIfzmUrpu4zv5LJMjC8eTS?usp=drive_link.

Data analysis:

• https://colab.research.google.com/drive/1NWwf1jOrpbXbc_v6wInyYTlgY9bv9Krq?usp=drive_link.
• https://colab.research.google.com/drive/1ud5ofaRTnwVrHRFawG2KRZAPuTAhX6KG?usp=drive_link.
• https://colab.research.google.com/drive/1TvqKGov_K2RTAOOyJtBzJ4hOHViYh47J?usp=drive_link.

Summary of Key Findings

From our research on X, what emerged was that, akin to his appearances in established media, Wilders occasionally makes an effort to present a milder version of himself on X, but his most emotional, provocative, and critical posts still perform the best. The tone of voice of Wilders’ unpopular posts are described as businesslike and informative, concerned and critical, politically strategic, and reactive and action-oriented. Whereas, the tone of voice of the popular posts are convincing and passionate, critical and attacking, emotional and engaging, populist and direct, and provocative and sensational. First, convincing and passionate. It portrays an environment on X that further reinforces an individuals’ existing perspectives due to their engagement in a selective process of consuming media content. It conveys the idea that an echo chamber is not characterised by a complete isolation of opposing perspectives. Instead, individuals engage in a practice of ‘cherry-picking and framing,’ which means information is chosen selectively to confirm existing beliefs and biases (Wieringa, et al., 2018).

Besides X, we also looked at Wilders’s presence on TikTok. Here, our research showed that Wilders and his PVV dominate the political discourse. In the weeks leading up to the election, more than half of the videos on the platform dealing with Dutch politics feature Wilders or his party. Moreover, Wilders’ maintained this popularity during the entire campaign, and not just in the last few weeks like the mainstream media and polls hinted at. Despite not having an account on the platform himself, Wilders presence on the platform consists of his supporters, as well as seemingly neutral meme and news accounts, posting clips from debates and television appearances, in which his charismatic demeanour and sound-byte-heavy speeches seem almost tailor-made for TikTok.

Introduction

This project is situated at the intersection of digital media, political campaigns, and public discourse. Specifically, the research focuses on the recent Dutch elections, a period characterised by intense political activity and increased public engagement, especially on social media platforms. The election campaign saw significant utilisation of social media, with interactions between political parties and the public. While the PVV spent only 45,000 euros on social media advertisements, the VVD spent just over 3.6 million euros. On the other hand, the NSC, another major winner, did not spend a single euro on social media, according to reports based on public data. The party that performed exceptionally well in the 2023 elections was the Party for Freedom (PVV), led by Geert Wilders, known for his rhetoric as a right-wing populist. The research focuses on whether the PVV was also successful in its presence on social media.

Wilders and the PVV have been central figures in shaping political debates in the Netherlands, often fueling discussions on national identity, immigration, and EU relations. In connection with this, the study explores the extent to which polarising or divisive issues fared well compared to other themes. The study's expectation was that it would provide insights into how social media, through the use of hashtags, can reflect public sentiments.

The hypothesis of our research is that (a) anti-establishment parties such as the PVV benefit from polarising processes on social media, (b) hashtags related to Wilders reflect that the polarising societal issues were central on social media during the election campaign, and (c) their social media campaign was a de facto carried out by parties and individuals not affiliated with this party but effectively campaigning on their behalf.

Research Questions

Research question: Did social media play a role in the elections? And if so, how?

Sub-questions:

1. How can the use of specific hashtags and keywords on social media platforms serve as indicators of public sentiment during the Dutch elections?
2. What role did social media play in the potential polarisation of voters, especially in relation to Geert Wilders' campaign?

Methodology

Scraping Posts on X

We scraped Wilders' 463 posts from September 1, 2023, to November 22, 2022, using Zeeschuimer and 4CAT DMI. Using Google Spreadsheets, we sorted the CSV file based on the number of reposts. From this, we selected the top 40 most reposted posts (this list included reposts, which we excluded). The top 20 of these had so many reposters that scraping them presented technical and time-related challenges. Consequently, we decided to use Instant Data Scraper to scrape posts from the top 21-40 for reposters, resulting in twenty separate CSV files.

We encountered issues with scrolling through comments due to frequent advertisements and the need to manually click "more replies." To overcome this, we implemented the following code: command f: "more replies" → command g. This expedited the manual navigation. Advertisements also appeared in the spreadsheets, which we addressed by setting the variable "replied_user" to "Geert Wilders." Comments were then sorted based on total interaction, a new variable comprising the earlier variables repost_count, reply_count, like_count, and quote_count. We examined which comments and associated accounts ranked highest to identify potential 'superspreaders.'

Subsequently, we realised there was a better method, rendering the above exercise more of a practice run. Therefore, we started anew. Again, we scraped Wilders' 463 posts from September 1, 2023, to November 22, 2022, using Zeeschuimer and 4CAT DMI. We filtered out all reposts by Wilders himself, leaving 392 posts. Through Google Spreadsheets, we sorted the CSV file based on the number of reposts. We then selected the top 40 most reposted posts, which included reposts that we wanted to exclude. However, the top 20 of these had numerous reposters, leading to technical and time-related challenges in scraping. Consequently, we decided to use Instant Data Scraper to scrape posts from the top 21-40 for reposters, resulting in twenty separate CSV files. These twenty CSV files were merged into one comprehensive dataset using Python. From this, we identified the number of accounts that most frequently repost Wilders' posts. We then proceeded to scrutinise these accounts.

Scraping #Wilders on TikTok

Like with X, our initial entry point for data collection on TikTok was searching for #wilders. Using a combination of Zeeschuimer to collect the data and FoxScroller to automatically scroll through the results page, we gathered 456 results, which were uploaded to 4CAT to extract the results as .csv files and use their filtering and visualisation modules. On desktop, TikTok offers no option to set a timeframe for the search, so this had to be done manually after the collection using 4CAT. The option to personalise search results was turned off.

Later in the process, scraping of other hashtags also yielded similar amounts of results, leading us to become suspicious that TikTok automatically caps the results at 400 to 460 videos and shows users the results in order of algorithmically determined relevance. A scrape of #funny, a wildly used hashtag, confirmed this.

Despite this, we decided to move forward with the data from the #wilders scrape. TikTok showing these results first might have to do with the reach these posts have, which was in line with our research on X. We took a closer look at the 23 accounts in the dataset that had at least three of their posts tagged with #wilders. We watched some of the content they posted to see what kind of accounts these were and if they let on any hints of allegiance to any party or ideology.

Findings

X

By scraping all 277 Dutch-language posts made by Wilders during the recent campaign period and organising them in a spreadsheet based on the number of reposts, we could easily determine which were popular and which were not. We extracted the three most extreme values and then compared the top 20 most reposted and least reposted posts based on thematic content and tone-of-voice. What emerged was that, akin to his appearances in established media, Wilders occasionally makes an effort to present a milder version of himself on X, but his most emotional, provocative, and critical posts still perform the best.

Popular posts

The tone of voice of the popular posts are convincing and passionate, critical and attacking, emotional and engaging, populist and direct, and provocative and sensational. First, convincing and passionate. The posts feature a convincing and passionate tone, aimed at encouraging people to vote for the PVV and celebrating the expected popularity of the party.

There is a critical and attacking tone aimed at opponents, with accusations and criticisms directed at specific politicians and media organisations. Sigrid Kaag and Rob Jetten are favourite targets. Furthermore, the posts contain emotional elements, expressing concern about social issues, including safety, immigration, Islam, and international events. A populist and direct tone is evident from the use of language, which is populist, direct, and accessible, aimed at engaging the audience with clear messages and calls to action. Lastly, a provocative and sensational tone is used to convey unfounded but strong statements and accusations, which evokes the idea that Wilders seeks to attract attention.

The themes on X were a political campaign for the PVV, criticism towards opponents, social issues and incidents, accusations and allegations, and international relations. The political campaign for the PVV encourages people to vote for the political party in the upcoming elections. Wilders celebrates the popularity of the PVV in polls and eagerly shares posts about new PVV supporters. The theme of criticism towards opponents is evident through his critique toward other politicians, including Timmermans, Klaver, Jetten, and Yesilgöz. Wilders firmly states that their attempts to discredit the PVV will fail. Additionally, Wilders gives attention to social issues, such as an attack in The Hague, expressing concerns about asylum seekers, and criticising the actions in Greek refugee camps. Further accusations and allegations are made against politicians like Kaag and Jetten. Moreover, Kaag is accused of financing terrorism, and Jetten faces alleged climate hypocrisy. Finally, the theme of international relations is illustrated by Wilders expressing concerns regarding international events, especially those related to Islamic influence and terrorism, for which he calls for action to protect Dutch values.

Unpopular posts

The tone of voice of Wilders’ unpopular posts are described as businesslike and informative, concerned and critical, politically strategic, and reactive and action-oriented. The posts have a more businesslike and informative tone, focusing on references to parliamentary activities, legislation, and political decision-making, as well as participation in interviews and TV programs. A concerned and critical tone is achieved by giving attention to concerns about safety, especially for Jewish institutions, and criticism of legislation and policy decisions, which is given in a somewhat formal manner. A politically strategic tone is portrayed by the posts that have reference to campaign events, polls, and PVV positions rather than direct attacks on opponents. Lastly, a reactive and action-oriented tone is more displayed in the unpopular posts. These posts focus on taking action in response to specific political developments, such as withdrawing support for legislation and sharing updates on Wilders' political work.

In terms of the themes, Wilders unpopular posts are about parliamentary activities, sharing media experiences, campaigning, party updates, and cats. The parliamentary activities illustrate Wilders’ posts, updates and shares of images from the Second Chamber, such as the General Political Considerations (APB) and motions related to asylum. Additionally, Wilders shares his media appearances. Wilders announces when he will participate in a TV program, interview, debate, or podcast. He often shares the footage or content afterward. The campaign remains consistent throughout his unpopular posts. Even though all the above is, of course, part of the campaign, Wilders also shares specific invitations and announcements of campaign moments, such as a flyer afternoon or an event at a Mall in the Netherlands. Additionally, party updates are given to address candidate lists and top candidates for the elections. Finally, Wilders enjoys sharing photos and updates about his cats. The ‘Jeugd Journaal’ even made an item about it, which Wilders enthusiastically reported on X.

Wilders’ Superfans

One of the focal points of our research was identifying so-called 'superfans' of Wilders on X during the recent campaign period. To achieve this, we scraped all X-posts by Wilders during the campaign period and sorted them based on the number of retweets. We selected numbers 21 through 40 and scraped the list of accounts that had reposted these posts. This way, we collected twenty different data files that we merged using Gephi. This allowed us to create a top 36 list of accounts that had reposted at least seventeen out of the twenty accounts. Six accounts were found to have posted all of Wilders' posts on their own timelines. We manually examined these 36 accounts, and one account stood out more than others: @lewinskylou2, under the name of "Lou Lewinsky," residing in Amsterdam.

With over 21 thousand followers on Twitter and an average of 131 posts per day, Lewinsky spreads his anti-establishment, anti-Islam, and anti-mainstream media views across the radical-right X-landscape. His posts often receive over a thousand likes, which were found on virtually all other superfans' timelines. This popularity is further illustrated by the hashtags used in his most liked posts. In our view, Lewinsky can be unquestionably considered an influencer within radical-right X circles. Therefore, according to our definition, @lewinskylou2 is not only a significant superfan but also an avid disseminator of radical-right PVV ideology. In a way, a kind of superspreader.

Lou Lewinsky’s online activities showcase a blend of conservative political views, anti-establishment rhetoric, and controversial anti-Islam opinions. Lewinsky does not use his own profile picture on X but rather the Wikipedia image of the well-known Russian mathematician Grigori Perelman. According to some posts and contributions on the GeenStijl internet forum, Lewinsky is a big fan of Perelman because he once declined a $1 million mathematics prize as he did not wish to be judged by a jury. Lewinsky praises this independence. Before Lou Lewinsky became active on X in 2018 on his old account @loulewinskyamst, he had been active for almost a decade on the right-conservative online platform GeenStijl under the name "Lewis Lewinsky." On GeenStijl, he frequently contacted namesake @Lewis_GS, with whom he still maintains frequent contact on X. Furthermore, we scraped the 102 most-liked (>1000 likes) posts by Lewinsky and collected the hashtags. They provide a good indication of the themes Lewinsky engages with and influences his followers and other X users.

#asylum (2x), #notourwar, #white, #VotePVV, #chronicallyill, #stopislam, #Brussels, #Senegal, #Pijnacker (3x), #chronicallyill, #StopIslam, #Brussels, #Senegal, #definition, #notourwar, #stopasylum, #WHITE (2X), #EXITPOLL, #stopimmigration, #water shortage, #STOPheadscarf, #BergEnDal, #Rotterdam, #fatwa, #cruiseships, #Hardenberg, #asylum #Islam, #Staphorst, #voted, #SalmanRushdie, #RutteMustGo, #asylumseekers, #islamcritic, #Rushdie, #NLvote

TikTok

While X was the main focus of our project, we also wanted to see what Wilders and his party’s presence was like on TikTok. The platform is becoming increasingly popular in the Netherlands, with four million Dutch users (from ages 15 and up) in 2023 (Newcom 2023), leading to a few parties, including Forum voor Democratie and DENK, to add a TikTok account to their social media strategy. While neither Wilders nor the PVV have an official account, there is much political content to be found on TikTok, including content about, discussing, and in support of Wilders.

Our initial aim with our research on TikTok was the same as that on X, find out who Wilders’ biggest supporters are and how his views are perpetuated in absentia. However, due to the differences in the affordances and consequential user practices on the platform, we had to adapt our research strategy to our findings. Eventually, we focussed on how the volume of TikTok content about the PVV compared to that of other parties, and what this content was about.

Active accounts

The user with by far the most posts tagged with #wilders was @kafkanl, with 62. He makes videos giving his own, mainly right-wing, commentary on political issues, sometimes including clips of debates and television appearances by politicians. He is the only user in the scrape who explicitly adds himself to his videos. A few other users also explicitly post videos of right-wing politicians and hint at having a right-wing of PVV affiliation, naming themselves Het Verzet NL or PVVop1.

Another category of poster that shows up frequently is news media outlets, like De Telegraaf, NOSstories, or Hart van Nederland. Popular talk-show Vandaag Inside also shows up with six posts.

But by far the biggest category of posters we saw were seemingly “neutral" posters, who focussed on posting political news (like @politiek_nederland) or funny clips of debates (like @tweedekamermemes1). While these users seem to have no explicit party affiliation, they do disproportionally often post Wilders compared to politicians of other parties.

Mapping the Political Debate on TikTok

We also wanted to look at how prevalent Wilders is in the general political discourse surrounding the elections on TikTok when compared to the other political parties and politicians. For this we scraped TikTok for #politiek (politics). Again, we were limited to the ~400 TikTok’s the algorithm would show us, so to expand the dataset, we also scraped six other neutral hashtags that were frequently co-tagged with #politiek. These were #verkiezingen (elections), #tweedekamer (house of representatives), #nederland (the Netherlands), #debat (debate), #verkiezingen2023 (elections 2023, and #stemmen (vote). This came up with 1867 TikTok’s in total, after removing duplicates.

We then wanted to know how often every party showed up in the videos in this date set. Therefore, we looked at party specific hashtags within this dataset and compiled them. For example, the PVV had 27 different hashtags associated with them, ranging form their name itself (#PVV), Wilders and other party members (#wilders, #martinbosma) or other hashtags indicating the video was about or featured the PVV and its members (#wildersmemes). We then coded the dataset to transform all affiliated hashtags to the party name. Finally, we only counted one instance per TikTok and deleted posts that did not feature any party, which left 844 TikToks.

For example, a TikTok tagged with “#wilders #PVV #timmermans” became “#PVV #PVV #GLPVDA”, which became “#PVV #GLPVDA”. This left us with a total overview of how many TikToks in the dataset were about each party.

What we saw was that the PVV dominates the discourse. This is visible in the bar chart below. 390 of the 844 analysed TikToks (46%) feature either Wilders or the PVV. Forum voor Democratie is also relatively popular, but they are one of the few that actually have an account on the platform. Mark Rutte also shows up quite often, which gives the VVD a boost in exposure.

Figure 1. Bar diagram showing how often each party shows up in the neutral discourse

The RankFlow diagram below, made with 4CAT, ranks the parties on prevalence per week of the election campaign. It shows us Wilders’ popularity does not come out of the blue. While the polls and the media only showed a surge in Wilders’ popularity in the last few weeks leading up to the election, on TikTok, he is popular during the entire campaign period. Only in week 40, 43, and 44 is the top spot taken by other parties. Moreover, Wilders’ presence only grows the more we near the election, both in volume and the share of the total volume. In the week right before the elections, more than half (56%) of TikToks is about him or his party, distantly followed by FvD with 12% and VVD with 6%. In the week of the election, PVV’s share grows to 60%, but this also includes a lot of reactions to the results and the party’s win on election night itself.

Figure 2. RankFlow diagram showing the prevalence of each party in the dataset per week of the campaign.

What were the TikToks about?

To gain a rough insight into which topics were prevalent in the discourse surrounding Wilders on TikTok, we asked ChatGPT to analyse the captions of the 50 most liked TikToks about the PVV and identify the most important themes. These are visible in the table below. It shows his themes like anti-gender ideology, the maintaining of Dutch culture, and immigration are prevalent.

Instagram

On Instagram, Wilders is less active than on X. Nevertheless, with 275 thousand followers, he still has a considerable reach here, although it does not come close to the 1.3 million. During the campaign period from September 1st to November 22nd, he posted only 33 times on Instagram. Therefore, on this platform, we compared the ten most popular posts with the ten least popular ones (based on the number of likes plus the number of comments).

Popular posts

On Instagram, the difference between popular and unpopular posts is less clear than on X. The same posts from the latest poll on November 21st and the attack on Timmermans regarding his severance pay during the SBS debate again rise to the top. However, even an innocent post about Wilders' sixtieth birthday, complete with balloons, performs very well on Instagram, whereas on X, we observed that this type of post did not fare well. Also, a post about cuddling stray cats with the Youth News (with heart eyes emojis) performs significantly better on Instagram than on X. One possible reason for this could be that Instagram is a platform more oriented towards visuals and less towards public debate and politics. The analysis shows that critical and attacking posts are less prominent on Instagram. Instead, more informal and positive posts with compelling visuals perform better on this platform. Classic nationalist Wilders posts also stand out.

Unpopular posts

The least popular post, in line with what we observe on X, is a positive post by Wilders about a media appearance, this time on "Rondje Binnenhof" by NOS on YouTube. Additionally, less popular posts on Instagram often revolve around announcements of meet & greets and campaigns. Apparently, these are less appealing to his followers, consistent with observations on X. It is noteworthy that a post criticising the allegedly hypocritical flying behaviour of climate minister Rob Jetten, which was expected to be popular based on the X analysis (more provocative), does not perform well on Instagram. This could be because there is a lot of text in this post, and Instagram is more focused on video and photo content.

Discussion

Sampling media references from different platforms has illustrated a political echo chamber. According to Wieringa, van Geenen, Schäfer, and Gorzeman, an echo chamber accounts for “a view of ‘echo chambers’ not as being isolated from media that do not share an ideological position, but instead as a cherry-picking and framing practice which draws from a highly diverse set of media outlets.” (Wieringa, et al., 2018). It addresses the concept of ‘echo chambers’ in relation to media consumption and ideological polarisation. An echo chamber refers to an online or offline environment in which individuals are connected to information and opinions that align with their own views and beliefs (Wieringa, et al., 2018). An echo chamber is defined by Wieringa, van Geenen Schäfer, and Gorzeman as an environment that further reinforces an individuals’ existing perspectives due to their engagement in a selective process of consuming media content. It conveys the idea that an echo chamber is not characterised by a complete isolation of opposing perspectives. Instead, individuals engage in a practice of ‘cherry-picking and framing,’ which means information is chosen selectively to confirm existing beliefs and biases (Wieringa, et al., 2018). Our research into the Wilders’ political sphere on social media further illustrates how hashtags were used to reflect that polarising societal issues were central on social media during the election campaign of the PVV. The presence of an echo chamber establishes the PVV’s social media campaign as a de facto carried out by parties and individuals not affiliated with this party but effectively campaigning on their behalf.

Additionally, our research further highlights the virality of Wilder's political campaign on TikTok, X and Instagram. Virality can be traced back to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) infodemic metaphor. The term infodemic stems from the information pandemic, which describes the over-abundance of information and the particular rise of misinformation (Infodemic, 2021). The metaphor was first coined by David Rothkopf during the SARS outbreak in 2003. Rothkopf described infodemic as “a few facts, mixed with fear, speculation and rumour, amplified and relayed swiftly worldwide by modern information technologies.” (Rothkopf, 2003) Furthermore, Rothkopf gives attention to the infodemic metaphor as something that affects national and international economies, politics, as well as raising concern for security due to the infodemic’s disproportion to root reality (Rothkopf, 2003). Considering the infodemic metaphor, virality, in this sense, describes the spread of the interrelatedness between information and misinformation generated by fear and speculation through communication technologies. In addition to WHO’s infodemic, the understanding of virality can be determined by the fundamental logic of the attention economy. Here, digital orality is based on the medium theory idea that different media ‘bias’ different epistemologies. For instance, Tommaso Venturini explores the existence of online conspiracism as a response to the attention economy. As Venturini emphasizes, “online conspirationism responds to incentives that are not only social or psychological but also specifically related to the acceleration of the media attention economy.” (Venturini, 2022, p.2). This connotes the idea that online conspiracies are responsive to the rise in regarding human attention as a valuable commodity. Venturini’s understanding of the incentive behind online conspirationism explores virality with regards to the way the attention economy biases orality. It connects to our research by recognising the attention economy of Wilders' fans on different social media platforms in regards to being a valuable commodity. Wilders' popular posts on the X and TikTok showcases the virality of topics that are considered more aggressive, such as anti-gender ideology and anti-immigration.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this research sheds light on the significant role of social media in shaping political discourse and potentially influencing election outcomes, particularly evident in the context of the recent Dutch elections. The findings highlight how political actors, such as Geert Wilders and the PVV, strategically utilise social media platforms to disseminate their messages, mobilise support, and engage with voters.

First, the study demonstrates that Wilders and the PVV effectively leveraged social media, particularly platforms like X and Instagram, to campaign for their political agenda and engage with their supporters. The analysis of Wilders' posts reveals a deliberate strategy of using various tones and themes to appeal to different segments of the audience, ranging from passionate and provocative to informative and strategic. The popularity of certain posts, as evidenced by the number of reposts and interactions, underscores the effectiveness of this approach in capturing public attention and generating engagement. Moreover, the research highlights the presence of echo chambers within social media environments, wherein individuals are exposed primarily to information and opinions that align with their pre-existing beliefs and biases. This phenomenon contributes to the polarisation of public discourse, as individuals are less likely to encounter diverse perspectives and engage in meaningful dialogue with those holding opposing views. The identification of "superfans" like @lewinskylou2, who actively disseminate PVV ideology within their online communities, further accentuates the role of social media in reinforcing ideological echo chambers and amplifying political polarisation.

On TikTok, Wilders' prevalence mainly comes from seemingly "neutral" pages posting mainly news and funny clips of debates and other media appearances. Wilders' charismatic and witty demeanor evidently does well on a platform that favors snappy and concise content, leading him to be posted by these accounts disproportionately to other politicians. This does, potentially inadvertently, lead to more exposure for him. And since voters tend to elect someone they know, this has undoubtedly impacted Wilders' electoral success.

In light of these findings, several recommendations for future research and application can be proposed. Firstly, further research into echo chambers to delve deeper into the mechanisms driving echo chambers on social media platforms to explore strategies within political discourses. Additionally, algorithmic transparency and accountability. Given the significant influence of social media algorithms in shaping users' content consumption patterns, there is a need for greater transparency and accountability from platform operators. Future studies could examine the impact of algorithmic biases on the amplification of polarising political content. Lastly, a comparative approach across different parties can provide valuable insights into the variations in the use of social media in political campaigns and its impact on democratic processes. By examining diverse case studies, researchers can identify best practices and lessons learned for promoting online political discourse.

References

Infodemic. (2021, April 8). The Infodemic Metaphor. Infodemic. http://infodemic.eu/2021/04/08/infodemic-metaphor.html.

Rothkopf, D. J. (2003, May 11). When the Buzz Bites Back. Infodemic. http://www1.udel.edu/globalagenda/2004/student/readings/infodemic.html.

Venturini, T. (2022). Online Conspiracy Theories, Digital Platforms and Secondary Orality: Toward a Sociology of Online Monsters. Theory, Culture & Society, 39(5), 1-20.

Wieringa, M., van Geenen, D., Schäfer, M. T. & Gorzeman, L. (2018). Political topic- communities and their framing practices in the Dutch Twittersphere. Internet Policy Review, 7(2). DOI: 10.14763/2018.2.793.