Read All About It: The Politicization of “Fake News” on Twitter

Due to the importance of word choice in political discourse, this study explored the use of the term “fake news.” Using a social network analysis, content analysis, and cluster analysis, political characteristics of online networks that formed around discussions of “fake news” were examined. This st...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournalism & mass communication quarterly Vol. 95; no. 2; pp. 497 - 517
Main Authors Brummette, John, DiStaso, Marcia, Vafeiadis, Michail, Messner, Marcus
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.06.2018
SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
Subjects
Cluster analysis
Content analysis
False information
Information dissemination
Mass media
News
Nonfiction
Political discourse
Political opposition
Political parties
Politicization
Social media
Social network analysis
Social networks
fake news
homophily
social network analysis
political communication
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Summary:Due to the importance of word choice in political discourse, this study explored the use of the term “fake news.” Using a social network analysis, content analysis, and cluster analysis, political characteristics of online networks that formed around discussions of “fake news” were examined. This study found that “fake news” is a politicized term where conversations overshadowed logical and important discussions of the term. Findings also revealed that social media users from opposing political parties communicate in homophilous environments and use “fake news” to disparage the opposition and condemn real information disseminated by the opposition party members.
ISSN:1077-6990
2161-430X
DOI:10.1177/1077699018769906