Abstract
Social media use by political leaders during presidential campaigns is a widespread phenomenon in the present-day world. However, this aspect of their activity seems to be controversial due to the possibility of neglect of the ethical part of the matter. From this perspective, such leaders as Jair Bolsonaro can be considered as the people undermining the basic principles of democracy. In contrast to them, such politicians as Hillary Clinton tend to use social media platforms ethically while increasing their popularity solely with the help of positive facts ascribed to them. Nevertheless, it is still unclear what distinguishes appropriate and inappropriate use of online sources by politicians pursuing their goals. Therefore, this paper aims to analyze the difference between Jair Bolsonaro and Hillary Clinton in terms of ethical behavior in social media.
Short Description of Main Discussion Topics
The consideration of the appropriateness of content published by political leaders in social media is a vital step towards understanding online platforms’ impact on the overall outcome of their activity. Such a complex task requires the evaluation of specific aspects related to the posts of politicians intended to increase their popularity. For this paper, Jair Bolsonaro and Hillary Clinton are considered as the examples of political leaders with ethical and unethical behavior accordingly, and their approaches are compared.
Annotated Bibliography
Beauchamp, Z. (2019). Social media is rotting democracy from within. Vox. Web.
In the article, the author presents his view on the inappropriate use of social media by political leaders and its consequences for democracy. He provides examples of far-right politicians as well as the methods they employ to promote themselves in the political arena. The information from this article will be critical for future research since it examines the actions of Brazil’s new far-right president Jair Bolsonaro. The consideration of this person will allow contrasting the appropriate use of social media in politics.
Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil’s president, is a master of social media. (2019). The Economist. Web.
The article published in The Economist provides comprehensive information on the actions of Jair Bolsonaro by analyzing his tweets during the presidential campaign. It also reveals the attitude of the president towards social media and its application to his goals, which is useful for the study. In this way, the source reflects on the psychological aspects of the matter while introducing the motives of Jair Bolsonaro and the possible negative consequences of such behavior.
Ruiz, R. (2016). How the Clinton campaign is slaying social media. Mashable UK. Web.
The article presents the perspective of another political figure, Hillary Clinton, on the use of social media. It analyzes the content published from her account during the presidential campaign and highlights the efficiency and appropriateness of specific techniques. Therefore, the use of this article will allow introducing the political leader, whose actions in social media are quite the opposite of Jair Bolsonaro’s policies, and compare the approaches in the course of the study.
Weeks, B. E., Kim, D. H., Hahn, L. B., Diehl, T. H., & Kwak, N. (2019). Hostile media perceptions in the age of social media: Following politicians, emotions, and perceptions of media bias. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 63(3), 374-392. Web.
In the article, Weeks et al. (2019) consider the phenomenon of hostile media perceptions in the political context. They provide a perspective of citizens on the activity of politicians online and analyze the correlation of their posts’ popularity with emotional feedback of users. This research will be beneficial for the future study in terms of evaluating the consequences of ethical and unethical use of social media.
Yack, A. (2016). Clinton campaign’s social media strategy was more effective than Trump’s. National Review. Web.
The article compares the political decisions of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton while proving the latter’s efficiency regarding the popularity among citizens. It presents a case of the type of content shared by both politicians and the consequences of their actions. Since the use of social media by Hillary Clinton seems to be more efficient, the inclusion of this article in the study will serve as a basis for the ethics of her behavior.
References
Beauchamp, Z. (2019). Social media is rotting democracy from within. Vox. Web.
Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil’s president, is a master of social media. (2019). The Economist. Web.
Ruiz, R. (2016). How the Clinton campaign is slaying social media. Mashable UK. Web.
Weeks, B. E., Kim, D. H., Hahn, L. B., Diehl, T. H., & Kwak, N. (2019). Hostile media perceptions in the age of social media: Following politicians, emotions, and perceptions of media bias. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 63(3), 374-392. Web.
Yack, A. (2016). Clinton campaign’s social media strategy was more effective than Trump’s. National Review. Web.