Memeing the Masses: Internet Memes as Educational Tools and Expressions of Public Opinion on Social Media

This research discusses the role of social media in increasing community political participation in Candirejo village, Biru Biru subdistrict, Deli Serdang district. Social media is a potential tool for the government to shape public opinion and influence political participation. In the context of a democratic country like Indonesia, public opinion has a crucial role. because it is the basis for government functions, this research uses a qualitative descriptive method, the research stage is carried out by collecting data, interviews, observations and analysis, the results of the research show that social media plays a vital role in political participation and the formation of public opinion in the digital era, with an impact good and bad. Nevertheless, the government needs to monitor political activities in the modern social media era. Social media is not only a communication platform, but also a place for information seeking, discussion and networking. This research aims to find out how social media shapes political participation in society using a qualitative descriptive approach. The research results show that social media has a significant influence in engaging, connecting, and mobilizing political participation, although the receipt of political information via social media may vary between individuals.

This research discusses the influence of social media on politics in Holbung Village, Sitiotio District, Samosir Regency. With the emergence and development of information technology, people's behavior has experienced a significant transformation in human thought patterns, feelings and actions. Social media is a potential tool for governments to shape public opinion and influence political participation. In the context of a democratic country like Indonesia, public opinion has a crucial role because it is the basis for government function. This study uses a library study method by collecting data through internet searching and documentation studies. Data analysis techniques include data reduction and data display. The research results show that social media plays a vital role in political participation and the formation of public opinion in the digital era, with both good and bad impacts. Nevertheless, the government needs to monitor political activities in the modern social media era. Social media is not only a communication platform, but also a place for information seeking, discussion and networking. This research aims to analyze how social media shapes political knowledge in society using a qualitative descriptive approach. The research results show that social media has a significant influence in engaging, connecting, and mobilizing political participation, although the receipt of political information via social media may vary between individuals.

This article explores the relevance of contemporary interactive broadcasting as a key model of modern radio. It identifies key trends in the development of interactive journalism in the context of commercialization and media convergence, and defines the factors influencing the transformation of interactive formats. The role of interactive content in the overall volume of radio broadcasting was investigated, new types of interactive broadcasts and their manifestations on the radio were studied. It is substantiated that the changes that have occurred in interactive radio journalism are determined not only by technological progress and market patterns in the media sphere, but also by the rapidly changing needs of the audience, the transformation of their behavioral models and media consumption regime. The article examines creative concepts that determine successful interaction between communicators and listeners, techniques for personalizing content, its visualization, and on-air tactics for strengthening contact with the audience. Noting the multifunctional nature of modern interactive broadcasting, the author particularly emphasizes the strengthening of the socially integrating mission of interactive broadcasts, aimed not only at the formation and expression of public opinion, but also the implementation of “social control,” which in turn contributes to the democratization of both communication processes and radio broadcasting in general. Noting the multifunctional nature of modern interactive broadcasting, the author emphasizes the strengthening of social and integrative missions. The publication analyzes types of interactive broadcasting, demonstrating the feasibility of both incentive and self-directed interaction. Interactive broadcast techniques based on both indirect and direct contact are studied and substantiated. New approaches to the use of SMS projects, top votes, surveys, and interactive discussions are identified, and modifications of the interactive "roundtable discussion" and game forms of advertising and situational profiles are analyzed. This integrative mission of interactive broadcasts is focused not only on the formation and expression of public opinion, but also on the implementation of "social control," which in turn contributes to the democratization of both communication processes and radio broadcasting as a whole. It is shown that the modification of interactive broadcasts results in a stronger authorial element, with a more pronounced variability in the journalist's personalized approach to guests and listeners. Specific examples demonstrate that the guidelines for the use of interactive elements in radio broadcasting have changed, the very nature of the relationship with listeners within the program has changed, and communication within the "listener-to-listener" model has become more prominent. Based on an analysis of radio's interactions with new media, it is concluded that many broadcasters have not yet realized the benefits of digitalization, social media, and mobile apps. Examining radio stations' online presence, the author concludes that modern marketing and management in the radio industry require well-thought-out tactics for engaging listeners in communications processes, as well as the effective use of interaction tools such as registration services, subscriptions, survey tabs, conveniently placed social media icons, contact buttons, and so on. To optimize audience engagement, it is proposed that radio hosts establish and maintain personal social media accounts across the board, and systematically utilize a strategy of multifaceted off-air engagement, including promotions, giveaways, and flash mobs. All of this should be aimed at ensuring that listeners perceive radio not only as a source of information and entertainment, but as a community. The challenges of interactive radio journalism are identified, and recommendations for optimizing audience engagement and prospects for its further development are presented.

The purpose of the study is to identify the impact of social media on the formation of public opinion in Ukraine. In the context of the war in Ukraine, public opinion plays a crucial role in resistance, morale, and support for government policies. This study examines the impact of social media use on the formation of Ukrainian public opinion during the conflict. Using a survey methodology (N=310), the relationship between social media use, interpersonal trust (ITS), and Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) was assessed. Results reveal that active social media use is associated with lower interpersonal trust and a pronounced FOMO syndrome (R²=0.571), suggesting a reduced ability for critical evaluation of information. These findings have implications for the development of communication strategies, public policies, and psychosocial interventions aimed at counteracting disinformation and promoting informed public opinion in times of conflict.

The growing influence of social media platforms on political discourse has been reshaping the formation and expression of public opinion, particularly in relation to voting behavior. Social media has been recognized as a rich, real-time source of data, offering valuable insights into political sentiments, voting patterns, and electoral dynamics. Conventional techniques for political assessment analysis have had difficulty capturing the dynamic, varied, and quickly changing character of voter mood in online spaces. In this study, an innovative artificial intelligence (AI) approach was developed to analyze political opinions extracted from social media data, with a specific focus on predicting voting behavior. Data were gathered from social media sites including Facebook, Reddit, and Twitter, focusing on popular opinion and political conversations throughout significant events and election seasons. The data were pre-processed using tokenization techniques to improve model accuracy, and features were extracted through Term Frequency–Inverse Document Frequency (TF-IDF). A brand-new method called Intelligent Coot Bird Optimized Categorical Boosting (ICBO-CatBoost) was put forward to analyze political viewpoints in social media data. This method integrates the capabilities of the CatBoost algorithm—known for its handling of categorical variables—with the Intelligent Coot Bird Optimization algorithm, which was employed to fine-tune model hyperparameters and enhance performance in modeling complex, non-linear relationships within political discourse and voting trends. The ICBO-CatBoost model was shown to outperform traditional models, achieving an F1-score of 89%, accuracy of 92%, precision of 90%, and recall of 85%, thereby providing more reliable predictions of voting intentions. Furthermore, the model was able to capture subtle shifts in political sentiment over time, particularly surrounding key electoral events. These findings underscore the significance of leveraging social media data to predict voting trends and support political analysts, campaign strategists, and policymakers in better understanding electoral behavior.

Citizen participation is an essential component of modern democratic public administration. However, it is not provided automatically but requires efforts from both public authorities and citizens themselves. The formation of public opinion on the need for citizen participation contributes to the unification of these efforts on both sides. In the context of the development of the information society, public opinion can and should be formed with Web 2.0 tools and technologies, primarily social media, which have a significant impact on the formation of public opinion in modern societies. The purpose of this article is to explore the possibility of forming public opinion on the need to increase citizen participation using social advertising on social media as a Web 2.0 tool. To achieve this, three research tasks were solved: to determine the essential features of public opinion; to consider the features of analysis and formation of public opinion; to consider the use of social advertising as a Web 2.0 tool for forming public opinion. A separate section of the article is devoted to each of the tasks. Based on the results of the study, several conclusions are drawn. The authors propose a mechanism for shaping public opinion on the need to increase the level of citizen participation, which includes the following components: identification of social groups for further interaction; monitoring of the social mood of these groups; tracking and analysis of social information targeted at these groups; studying public opinion rooted in certain social groups through establishing communication with them; analysis of public opinion in terms of its contribution to increasing the level of citizen participation; application of Web 2.0 tools to identify and analyse public opinion.

From Café Culture to Tweets

The digital age has brought significant changes in the way people access and process information. Social media and other online platforms have become a major source of information and public opinion. This study aims to review the literature on public opinion formation in the digital age. This study uses the literature review method to analyze literature relevant to the research topic. A literature review shows that the digital age has had a significant impact on the formation of public opinion. Social media and other online platforms have become the primary means for individuals to access information, share ideas, and exchange opinions. This has led to changes in the way public opinion is formed and disseminated. The formation of public opinion in the digital age is a complex and dynamic phenomenon. Social media and other online platforms have an important role to play in shaping public opinion. A better understanding of the process of forming public opinion in the digital age is needed to develop effective communication strategies and build a more democratic society.

Taiwan is a country with fairly high internet and smart phone penetration. By 2014, more than 70% of Taiwanese over the age of 15 owned a smart phone. Using Facebook online or via mobile internet has gradually become an accepted innovation for most Taiwanese, especially for the new generation. Among Taiwan's population of 23 million populations, there are 18 million Facebook (FB) users. Some Taiwanese have more than one FB account. This study aims to discover whether the innovation diffusion theory and spiral of silence phenomenon work on Facebook usage and adoption during the 2016 Taiwanese Presidential Election. In this study, the researcher launched an in-depth interview to get qualitative data from 9 interviewees who are enthusiastic voters and political party supporters. Furthermore, the researcher launched an internet survey obtaining a sample of 485 respondents. The research results showed us that social media, such as Facebook, had already replaced traditional media during the 2016 presidential election in Taiwan and changed voters' media usage and expression of public opinion. Facebook users or adopters can use their quasi-statistical organ to gain an impression of the public opinion climate on Facebook, and these factors affected or changed their public opinions expression on FB. The 2016 Presidential Election in Taiwan was an important social or political movement for Taiwanese. The research results showed the innovation diffusion or adoption of Facebook changed the Internet Usage and Public Opinions Expression in Taiwan, and it also partially provided support that the Spiral of Silence theory could be applied to the new social media in Taiwan.

Internet memes have become a popular format for expressing individual political opinions in social media. Based on a quantitative online survey of political Internet meme users from fringe web communities and sharing platforms (n = 482), this study examines the factors related to political expression in Internet memes. The analysis reveals that political Internet meme usage depends on users’ political interest and the intensity of social media prosumption. Political Internet meme usage is also positively related to users’ motivations for political engagement and internal political efficacy. Moreover, the use of Internet memes for the expression of political opinions is related to users’ online and offline political participation. This study represents the first empirical exploration of users who create and share political Internet memes. The results contribute to the body of knowledge on changing and elusive participatory practices in social media and shift the focus from general social media usage to a specific type of content.

‘The Sharpness of a Smooth Tongue’. Literary Texts and the Formation of Public Opinion in the Early Modern NetherlandsThe Low Countries hardly play any role in international debates about the history of the formation of public opinion in early modern Europe. In the wake of Jürgen Habermas, historians have focused in particular on late seventeenthand eighteenth-century England and France. Scholars have criticised the notion that it was during the eighteenth century that the formation of free public opinion came into existence due to a combination of the periodical press, its critical role and a national readership. Nevertheless, the period before 1700 is hardly referred to at all during discussions about the role of public opinion. During that time a permanent, structured public openness did not exist. However, in the early modern Low Countries many socio-cultural and institutional conditions seem to be present which made the formation of critical public opinion among the population possible. The literary culture of these regions offers an important research subject for studies into the formation of public opinion.

Trends in social media had become an approach throughout the world nowadays in spreading an information to the crowd. However, are the information given were the qualified source of information? And, how do they influence the formation of public opinion among netizens? This study aim to investigate the role of independent media portal in social media towards the public opinion formation during Bersih 4.0 Rally. Elements of examination were the distribution of public opinion through comments made on selected Facebook’s post. Content analysis on the extracted comments was carried out using the Application Programme Interface (API) webtools to categorize the sentiment polarity while SPSS version 20 to verify the association of the variables. The independent variables consist of 4 sources of information while public opinion was taken as dependent variable. Results showed the correlations and effect among the independent media portal in the social media towards the dependent variable and highest comments found on independent sources of information where it consists of highest positive and negative comments. There were association among the sources of information towards the formation of public opinion in social media, where results showed the x² = 26:814, df = 6 was significant at p 0.05. The independent media portal proved to be one of the most important source of information during crisis. A strategic use of independent media portal by the organisation during crisis can improve and strengthen the organization

ABSTRACTThis paper examines the nature of public opinion concerning the National Health Service. Data from two series of national surveys covering the period 1983–92 are used to analyse trends in opinion. OPCS data for 1991–2 are examined in more detail to investigate the determinants of satisfaction with health services. A range of demographic, socio-economic and health status characteristics, as well as media coverage of health-related issues, are found to be significantly related to expressions of satisfaction with the NHS, in addition to recent experience of using health services. The complexity of the formation and expression of public opinion is acknowledged. In particular, the importance of taking note of the methodological implications and political context associated with expressions of public opinion is emphasised.

This systematic literature review examines the impact of social media on public opinion and its implications for policy-making. Utilising the PRISMA framework, the study analysed 19 articles from Scopus and Web of Science databases published between 2013-2023. The review identified five main categories of social media platforms discussed; Twitter/X, Meta (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp), YouTube, Chinese apps (Sina Weibo, WeChat, QQ), and several unspecified platforms. Key themes emerged across these categories, including the role of social media in knowledge dissemination, creation of filter bubbles and echo chambers, amplification of diverse voices, and spread of misinformation. The findings highlighted social media potential for real-time public opinion monitoring, facilitating engagement between policymakers and citizens, and early identification of emerging issues. However, challenges such as information credibility and algorithmic curation of content were also noted. The review suggests that strategic use of social media can raise awareness and mobilise support for global initiatives like the Sustainable Development Goals. It emphasises the need for policymakers to understand and leverage social media's influence on public sentiment while addressing associated risks. The study contributes to a nuanced understanding of how different social media platforms shape public discourse and influence policy decisions in the digital age. Future research directions are proposed to further explore the complex dynamics between social media, public opinion, and governance in an evolving technological landscape. Keywords: Social media impact, public opinion formation, digital policymaking, online political discourse, civic engagement.

The use of social media has become an integral part of everyday life, including in people's political participation. Campus community political participation is greatly influenced by social media. Social media such as Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp have a significant impact on political engagement. People use social media as a political campaign tool, as well as a means of communicating and obtaining political information that is fast, accurate and reliable. This research aims to determine the influence of social media on political participation in campus communities. The method used is descriptive qualitative. The data collection method was carried out by interviewing students. Participants in this research were PPI FUSI UINSU students using structured interviews conducted with 30 PPI FUSI UINSU students. Data is collected and analyzed to identify levels of media use, participation and politics. The research results show that social media is very important for citizen participation, especially the community. The role of social media as a medium for information about politics is quite large. Social media as a communication tool for seeking political information, social media has positive and negative impacts on the political participation of campus communities, especially in increasing political awareness and participation through online information and discussions and the spread of hoax news. With easy access and fast dissemination of information, social media allows students to more easily engage in political discussions, express opinions, and gather support for various issues. Apart from that, social media also helps in mass mobilization to attend demonstrations, elections and other political events. Social media has an important role in increasing the political participation of students in the Fusion Islamic Education Study Program at UIN North Sumatra. As a result, political participation among students has become more active and dynamic, creating a younger generation who is more aware and critical of developing political issues.