The social media election agenda: issue salience on Twitter during the European and Swedish 2014 elections

Abstract

The role of issues in electoral preference formation has long been an established key factor and what voters consider the most important problem i.e. issue salience is essential for party choice. Political issues (and their salience to the electorate) also play an important role in parties' tactical campaign strategies. This study examines to what extent social media possibly can contribute in shaping the issue agenda regarding the political parties. The issue agenda on Twitter is likely to have its own characteristics and dynamics, shaped by the technical peculiarities, users and the new campaigning possibilities that social media offers. This study will identify what issues are salient in the online discussions in conjunction with the European election and Swedish national election 2014. The distribution of issue attention divided to the various parties on social media is analyzed in light of the issue agenda set forth by the voters for the different elections.