Episodes

#3: Öresundsrevolutionen and Facebook: Protesting Sweden’s Border Controls on Social Media, with Niels Paarup-Petersen

October 27, 2016 Politicians

In late 2015, the Swedish government imposed border controls to stem the influx of migrants to Sweden from the refugee crisis. A small group of regional politicians in Southern Sweden set up a Facebook page, Öresundsrevolutionen, to protest the border controls. In this episode Niels Paarup-Petersen, a regional politician from the Center Party, shares his insight into how and why the movement to protest the border controls is taking place on Facebook. We discuss Öresundsrevolutionen’s communication strategy on Facebook, the role social media plays in advocating its message, and how the movement is using Facebook to place pressure on the Swedish government to repeal the border controls.

#2: Twitter and Political Debates: What Dual Screening means for Democracy and Political Participation, with Dr. Cristian Vaccari

October 27, 2016 Academics

Dr. Cristian Vaccari, one of the world’s leading social media and political communication researchers, shares his insights about what “dual screening” during political events means for democracy and political participation. We discuss exactly what dual screening is, as well as Dr. Vaccari’s recent prize-winning research finding that citizens who use Twitter during political debates are more likely to participate in politics during (and after) elections. Other topics covered in this episode are the role of social media in affecting citizens’ exposure to news, why researchers are overly focused on Twitter, and what implications social media has for democracy in the digital age.

#1: The European Parliament on Snapchat: Engaging EU Youth in Politics through Social Media, with Karolina Wozniak

October 26, 2016 Digital Strategists

Karolina Wozniak, Social Media Coordinator for the European Parliament, shares how and why the European Parliament is using Snapchat to engage youth in EU politics. Listen in as we discuss where Snapchat fits into the Parliament’s overall social media strategy, the levels and types of citizen engagement, geofilters, and the costs of running a Snapchat account for a government institution (you’ll be surprised!).