Populist communication by digital means: presidential Twitter in Latin America

ABSTRACT

In this paper, we analyze the uses of Twitter by populist presidents in contemporary Latin America in the context of the debates about whether populism truly represents a revolution in public communication – that is, overturning the traditional hierarchical model in favor of popular and participatory communication. In principle, Twitter makes it possible to promote the kind of interactive communication often praised in populist rhetoric. It offers a flattened communication structure in contrast to the top–down structure of the traditional legacy media. It is suitable for horizontal, unmediated exchanges between politicians and citizens. Our findings, however, suggest that Twitter does not signal profound changes in populist presidential communication. Rather, it represents the continuation of populism’s top–down approach to public communication. Twitter has not been used to promote dialogue among presidents and publics or to shift conventional practices of presidential communication. Instead, Twitter has been used to reach out the public and the media without filters or questions. It has been incorporated into the presidential media apparatus as another platform to shape news agenda and public conversation. Rather than engaging with citizens to exchange views and listen to their ideas, populists have used Twitter to harass critical journalists, social media users and citizens. Just like legacy media, Twitter has been a megaphone for presidential attacks on the press and citizens. It has provided with a ready-made, always available platforms to lash out at critics, conduct personal battles, and get media attention.

KEYWORDS:

• Social media
• populism
• presidential communication
• political communication
• Twitter

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Silvio Waisbord is Professor in the School of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University. His recent books are The Routledge Companion to Media and Human Rights (co-edited with Howard Tumber, 2017), News of Baltimore: Race, Rage and the City (co-edited with Linda Steiner, 2017) and Media Movements (co-written with Soledad Segura, 2016) [email: [email protected]].

Adriana Amado is Professor at the Universidad Nacional de la Matanza, Argentina, and Visiting Professor at University Castilla La Mancha, Spain. Her recent books are Política Pop (2016) and La Prensa de la Prensa (2016) [email: [email protected]].

Notes

1. ‘Lo que la mezquindad de la oposición y cierta prensa niegan, el mundo lo reconoce https://t.co/uvJU4eZHC9’.

2. ‘Periodista’ ecuatoriana ‘opinando’: Ejemplo extremo pero representativo de la prensa mercantil. ¡Qué vergüenza!’.

3. ‘@TheEconomist ¡basta de mentir sobre #Ecuador! Vengan al país, constaten la realidad antes de publicar falsedades. Un poquito de decencia’.

4. ‘@FUNDAMEDIOS @MashiRoberto @CIA Lo siento Fundamedios, pero voy a tener que bloquearlos. Mi estómago no da para tanto. Hello to your Friends’.

5. ‘Ni tampoco las mentiras que se siguen propalando merced a una impunidad mediática nunca antes vista … ’.

6. ‘No se puede mentir tanto. Con tanto registro visual y fotográfico de todas mis actividades’.

7. ‘RT @LaHojillaenTV: Los enemigos de la patria se han estrellado contra la conciencia de un pueblo que no caerá en la trampa golpista’.

8. ‘@EPN Reconozco el trabajo responsable y libre de aquellos que contribuyen a la construcción de una sociedad más informada y más democrática’.

9. ‘@JuanManSantos Como Presidente y periodista creo y defiendo la #LibertadDePrensa, sin ella no hay buen periodismo ni democracia.’

10. ‘@sebastianpinera En el Día del Periodista saludo cariñosamente a todos los q con su trabajo fortalecen la libertad de expresión, información y la democracia’.