Journal
FRENCH POLITICS
Volume 17, Issue 3, Pages 257-278Publisher
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN LTD
DOI: 10.1057/s41253-019-00090-w
Keywords
Election meddling; Election silence; Twitter; Politics; Social media; Leaks; Hashtags
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Media blackouts or election silence periods feature in several European democracies. However, this article argues that they have become democratic vulnerabilities in the context of increased Internet-based electoral meddling such as during #MacronLeaks. Using both discourse and social network analyses, this study shows that the vacuum created by the inability of politicians and established media outlets to comment on the leaks empowered unregulated and unreliable sources which sought to drag the direction of the election away from the centre and towards the far right. Our findings have broad implications for understanding how social media activity is structured under the conditions of information leaks. The findings of this study may be relevant to other political events which involve the release of sensitive information via social media.
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