Abstract
Our study compared the use of fear messages on Facebook by Barack Obama and Mitt Romney during the 2012 U.S. presidential elections. Results show that written fear messages embedded in photographs posted on Facebook by both candidates affected the degree to which those photographs were shared. More specifically, photographs containing written fear messages were shared more often than photographs not containing written fear messages. Furthermore, while the challenging candidate, Mitt Romney, used more photographs containing fear messages, the increase in shares was consistent across candidates. Implications regarding information distribution within communities, public relations practitioners specializing in political campaigning and society as a whole are discussed.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 5-15 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Journal | Media Watch |
Volume | 6 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jan 1 2015 |
Keywords
- 2012 election
- Content analysis
- Motivation theory
- Protection
- Social media
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Communication