Business as Usual? Assessing Amplified Political Posts Across Social Media Platforms During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (now X), play a crucial role in facilitating connections between politicians and citizens, particularly during a crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic. This article examines the characteristics of viral social media posts in Norway and Swe...

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Main Authors: Roy Aulie Jacobsen, Anders Olof Larsson
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publishing 2024-11-01
Series:Social Media + Society
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051241301203
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author Roy Aulie Jacobsen
Anders Olof Larsson
author_facet Roy Aulie Jacobsen
Anders Olof Larsson
author_sort Roy Aulie Jacobsen
collection DOAJ
description Social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (now X), play a crucial role in facilitating connections between politicians and citizens, particularly during a crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic. This article examines the characteristics of viral social media posts in Norway and Sweden during the initial wave of the pandemic. Despite their geographical proximity and cultural similarities, Norway and Sweden adopted different approaches to the pandemic, providing a compelling basis for comparative analysis. Employing a visual computational approach, this study maps viral posts by analyzing engagement metrics such as likes, reactions, shares, and comments. A close reading of popular posts investigates the communication strategies employed across platforms and national contexts. The findings reveal that political criticism on Twitter attracted substantial engagement, while Instagram posts leaned toward self-promotion. On Facebook, popular posts exhibited a more varied use of communication strategies, reflecting a nuanced approach to engagement across different social media environments.
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publisher SAGE Publishing
record_format Article
series Social Media + Society
spelling doaj-art-535af3dabee144afb2f0cfcbd18bb0232024-12-20T08:03:30ZengSAGE PublishingSocial Media + Society2056-30512024-11-011010.1177/20563051241301203Business as Usual? Assessing Amplified Political Posts Across Social Media Platforms During the COVID-19 PandemicRoy Aulie JacobsenAnders Olof LarssonSocial media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (now X), play a crucial role in facilitating connections between politicians and citizens, particularly during a crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic. This article examines the characteristics of viral social media posts in Norway and Sweden during the initial wave of the pandemic. Despite their geographical proximity and cultural similarities, Norway and Sweden adopted different approaches to the pandemic, providing a compelling basis for comparative analysis. Employing a visual computational approach, this study maps viral posts by analyzing engagement metrics such as likes, reactions, shares, and comments. A close reading of popular posts investigates the communication strategies employed across platforms and national contexts. The findings reveal that political criticism on Twitter attracted substantial engagement, while Instagram posts leaned toward self-promotion. On Facebook, popular posts exhibited a more varied use of communication strategies, reflecting a nuanced approach to engagement across different social media environments.https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051241301203
spellingShingle Roy Aulie Jacobsen
Anders Olof Larsson
Business as Usual? Assessing Amplified Political Posts Across Social Media Platforms During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Social Media + Society
title Business as Usual? Assessing Amplified Political Posts Across Social Media Platforms During the COVID-19 Pandemic
title_full Business as Usual? Assessing Amplified Political Posts Across Social Media Platforms During the COVID-19 Pandemic
title_fullStr Business as Usual? Assessing Amplified Political Posts Across Social Media Platforms During the COVID-19 Pandemic
title_full_unstemmed Business as Usual? Assessing Amplified Political Posts Across Social Media Platforms During the COVID-19 Pandemic
title_short Business as Usual? Assessing Amplified Political Posts Across Social Media Platforms During the COVID-19 Pandemic
title_sort business as usual assessing amplified political posts across social media platforms during the covid 19 pandemic
url https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051241301203
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AT andersoloflarsson businessasusualassessingamplifiedpoliticalpostsacrosssocialmediaplatformsduringthecovid19pandemic