"Delete Your Account": The 2016 Presidential Race on Twitter. (August 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Evans, Heather K.; Brown, Kayla J.; Wimberly, Tiffany
• Other Names: Baumgartner Jody guest-editor.
• Is Part Of: Social science computer review. Volume 36:Number 4(2018)
• Page Start: 500
• Page End: 508
• Publication Date: 2018-08
• Subjects: 2016 election -- Hillary Clinton -- Donald Trump -- Twitter -- policy issues -- negativity -- gender; Social sciences -- Data processing -- Periodicals; Computers -- Social aspects -- Periodicals; Microcomputers -- Periodicals; Sciences sociales -- Informatique -- Périodiques; Micro-ordinateurs -- Périodiques; 300.285
• DOI: 10.1177/0894439317728722
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0894-4393

Abstract

While there has been a growth in the number of published studies about how candidates for the U.S. House and Senate use Twitter, candidates for president have been largely ignored. In this article, we examine the way the two 2016 presidential candidates communicated on Twitter. Using a content analysis of all tweets sent from Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump's accounts from July 1 to Election Day, we explore whether the two candidates used this social network in the same ways, stressed similar policy issues, and were equally likely to "go negative" online.