ABSTRACT

The internet has been praised as a tool that would increase political participation and enhance dialogue between politicians and the public. In fact, the widespread use of social media has turned the internet into a valuable communication channel for both individuals and organizations. Notably, it presented many opportunities for politicians and political parties to reach their constituencies. However, studies on politicians’ social media behaviors reported that they were using social media for broadcasting official political positions and self-promotion. In addition, the social media has become a tool to extend traditional politics into the cyberspace where interaction and exchange between rival political groups are rare and not very productive. As a result, ideological homophily was reported as the most crucial predictor of network formation on social media for politicians. This study explored that finding by analyzing Twitter friendships and retweeting networks of Turkish politicians. It found that political interests were more influential in politicians’ social media networks than ideological homophily.

摘要

互联网被赞誉为一种可以增加政治参与和加强政治家与公众之间对话的工具。事实上，社交媒体的广泛使用已经将互联网变成了个人和组织的宝贵交流渠道。值得注意的是，它为政治家和政党提供了许多接触其选区的机会。然而，对政客社交媒体行为的研究表明，他们正在使用社交媒体来宣传官方政治立场和自我宣传。此外，社交媒体已成为将传统政治扩展到网络空间的工具，在这个网络空间中，敌对政治团体之间的互动和交流很少且效率不高。结果，据报道，意识形态同质性是政治家社交媒体网络形成的最重要预测因素。本研究通过分析土耳其政客的 Twitter 友谊和转发网络来探索这一发现。它发现政治利益在政治家的社交媒体网络中比意识形态同质性更有影响力。