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arXiv · 1205.1010

Partisan Asymmetries in Online Political Activity

Michael D. Conover·Bruno Gonçalves·Alessandro Flammini·Filippo Menczer
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Abstract

We examine partisan differences in the behavior, communication patterns and social interactions of more than 18,000 politically-active Twitter users to produce evidence that points to changing levels of partisan engagement with the American online political landscape. Analysis of a network defined by the communication activity of these users in proximity to the 2010 midterm congressional elections reveals a highly segregated, well clustered partisan community structure. Using cluster membership as a high-fidelity (87% accuracy) proxy for political affiliation, we characterize a wide range of differences in the behavior, communication and social connectivity of left- and right-leaning Twitter users. We find that in contrast to the online political dynamics of the 2008 campaign, right-leaning Twitter users exhibit greater levels of political activity, a more tightly interconnected social structure, and a communication network topology that facilitates the rapid and broad dissemination of political information.

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Michael D. Conover, Bruno Gonçalves, Alessandro Flammini, Filippo Menczer. 2012-06-19. Partisan Asymmetries in Online Political Activity. https://doi.org/10.1140/epjds6

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