The role of emotions in the construction and dissemination of disinformation on Twitter. A comparison between Brazil and Spain.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5209/esmp.82822
Keywords: Disinformation, emotion analysis, affective polarisation, social networks, political communication

Abstract

Affective polarisation and misinformation are key phenomena in the communication strategy of Jair Bolsonaro, current president of Brazil, and Santiago Abascal, leader of VOX in Spain. The aim of this project is to understand the role of emotions in the construction and dissemination of these two issues in the social media discourses of both leaders. To do so, this study is based on an analysis of emotions and misinformation in which a sample of 100 tweets from each politician is compared. The results obtained indicate that, while Abascal's publications stand out for the use of anger or disgust linked to some type of disinformation, Bolsonaro's case reveals a greater concentration of pleasant emotions, in addition to the fact that most of his tweets do not contain any type of misinformation. This research is intended as a theoretical and methodological framework for emotion studies.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Iris Simón-Astudillo, Universidad de Valladolid

Candidata predoctoral en Comunicación por la Universidad de Valladolid. Anteriormente ha cursado el Grado en Periodismo y el Máster en Investigación de la Comunicación como Agente Histórico-Social en la misma universidad. Sus principales intereses de investigación se centran en temas relacionados con las redes sociales, la participación y los estudios de género. A pesar de su corta carrera académica, ya ha participado en congreso internacionales como 9th International Communication Days / Communication Studies in the Digital Age Symposium y ha sido galardonada con el Premio a la Excelencia de Trabajo de Fin de Máster en investigación en igualdad por su alma máster.

Julia Marks Santana Chaves, Federal University of ABC

Graduada en Ciencias y Humanidades y Relaciones Internacionales por la Universidad Federal del ABC en Brasil. Investigadora de comunicación política, conflictos sociales y psicología política en Twitter, además de participante del Observatório de Conflitos Sociais de Brasil. 

View citations

Article download

Crossmark

Metrics

Published
2022-12-21
How to Cite
Simón-Astudillo I. y Marks Santana Chaves J. . (2022). The role of emotions in the construction and dissemination of disinformation on Twitter. A comparison between Brazil and Spain. Estudios sobre el Mensaje Periodístico, 28(4), 881-894. https://doi.org/10.5209/esmp.82822
Issue
Vol. 28 No. 4 (2022): ¿Crisis de la mediación? Periodismo, política y ciudadanía ante la desinformación
Section
Studies

License

In order to support the global exchange of knowledge, the journal Estudios sobre el Mensaje Periodístico is allowing unrestricted access to its content as from its publication in this electronic edition, and as such it is an open-access journal. The originals published in this journal are the property of the Complutense University of Madrid and any reproduction thereof in full or in part must cite the source. All content is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 use and distribution licence (CC BY 4.0). This circumstance must be expressly stated in these terms where necessary. You can view the summary and the complete legal text of the licence.