A Content Analysis of User Roles in the Twitter Discourse on the NSA Scandal in Germany

• In Event: ICA Plenary Interactive Paper/Poster Session and Reception
  In Interactive Paper Session: Information Systems Interactive Poster Session

Abstract

Social media allow users to bypass journalism as a primary information source and produce and shape information flows. Politicians, spokespersons, and citizens can communicate directly with each other and are no longer dependent on journalistic intermediaries, whose influence supposedly diminishes in consequence. Yet to date, the question of the strength of influence in this triangle remains largely unanswered. The present study explores the differences in interaction and linking practices and the impact on information flow of citizen, spokesperson and media accounts on Twitter. A content analysis of 1293 tweets written about the meeting between the German Minister of the Interior and US authorities in July 2013, a key event of the NSA-scandal in Germany, revealed significant differences between user types for all three aspects. Results indicate that traditional influentials such as media outlets still play a key role in information flow in social media, often determining what information gets shared.

Authors

• Sanja Kapidzic, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet Muenchen

• Christoph Neuberger, U of Munich

• Stefan Stieglitz, U of Münster

• Malte Landwehr, U of Münster