Political Campaigns and Social Media: A Study of #mhe13 in Ireland

Abstract

This report documents the 2013 Meath East by-election through the lens of social media. It makes the point that social media can be used as a tool to examine political campaigns. Candidates use social media including Twitter and Facebook to market, to mobilise and to engage with their supporters and the general public. Utilising all the major party candidates’ Twitter and Facebook activity during the 2013 Meath East by-election campaign, this report finds that candidates vary greatly in their use of social media but almost all place a greater emphasis on marketing and mobilising over engaging. In addition, it examines the extent to which social media can deliver a preference vote bonus, finding a significant (but small) effect.

Keywords:

• by-election
• Twitter
• campaign
• social media

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank DCU MAP students Cait O'Riordain and Colm Jordan for work on the area as well as the comments of an anonymous reviewer. All errors are of course the author's own.

Notes

1. The detail is incomplete as two candidates, Ben Gilroy (Direct Democracy) and Jim Tallon (Non Party) failed to make a return to the Commission.