Party Networks Online: Using Facebook to Identify “Us” and “Them”

• In Event: Political Organizations Online and in Print

Abstract

Previous research on the extended party network has focused on identifying membership within the party network by looking at the actions of potential co-partisans and elites through donations. This way of measuring the party network though is affected by the resources available to different groups.

We argue that the extended party network also materializes in social media posts. Social media provides more transparency in the connection between actors and a lower barrier to entry. As is true with traditional definitions of the extended party network, however, even on social media those with resources may be more central. By choosing to share information from individual elites and organizations, political parties indicate whom they view as trustworthy and legitimate sources of information. At the same time, political parties may choose to critique or mock posts from the opposition. This provides some signal as to whom the party views as being part of the opposition’s extended party network.

In this paper, we seek to answer two questions: What do local political party Facebook posts reveal about the extended party network in the 2020 presidential election? How is the opposing party’s network constructed through Facebook posts? We use a comprehensive dataset of local political party Facebook posts to answer these questions. We aim to contribute to not just research on party networks but also a burgeoning line of research on how partisans (mis)perceive the opposing party.

Authors

• Kevin Reuning, Miami University

• Anne Whitesell, Miami University

• Lee Hannah, Wright State University