Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-hc48f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T09:24:41.636Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

STRONG FANS, WEAK CAMPAIGNS: SOCIAL MEDIA AND DUTERTE IN THE 2016 PHILIPPINE ELECTION

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 July 2020

Aim Sinpeng ,
Dimitar Gueorguiev  and
Aries A. Arugay
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The 2016 presidential contest is widely considered as the first “social media election” in the Philippines. At the same time, it remains unclear if or how social media helped Rodrigo Duterte mobilize voters to gain victory. There are three main social media campaigning models: broadcast, grassroots, and self-actualizing. Analysis of twenty million activities and 39,942 randomly sampled comments across the official Facebook pages of key presidential candidates supports the grassroots model as Duterte's profile was the most engaged, even if Duterte himself was not actively engaged. Such inconsistencies raise the prospect that Duterte's online prominance was fabricated by paid trolls and fake accounts. Instead, our analysis suggests that Duterte's digital fanbase was, at least in part, a reflection of offline, grassroots political support. In particular, data from an original survey of 621 respondents suggests that Duterte supporters were not only aggressive in their support for Duterte online, they were also more committed to him offline as well. These findings add to a growing literature on social media and politics that seeks to understand the broader ecosystem of online political discourse, rather than focusing on the actions and strategies of political campaigns. They also underscore the fine line between fabricated support and genuine political fervor.

Keywords

PhilippineselectionFacebooksocial mediacampaignDutertepolitical participationonline engagement
Type
Article
Information
Journal of East Asian Studies , Volume 20 , Issue 3 , November 2020 , pp. 353 - 374
Copyright
Copyright © East Asia Institute 2020

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Arguelles, Cleve. 2019. “We are Rodrigo Duterte”: Dimensions of the Philippine Publics’ Vote.” Asian Politics & Policy 11 (3): 417–437.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Arugay, Aries A. 2017. “The Philippines in 2016: The Electoral Earthquake and Its Aftershocks.” Southeast Asian Affairs 2017: 277–296.Google Scholar
Atkeson, Lonna Rae. 1999. “‘Sure, I Voted for the Winner!’ Overreport of the Primary Vote for the Party Nominee in the National Election Studies.” Political Behavior 21 (3): 197–215.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Autor, Zachary J,. and Fine, Jeffrey A.. 2018. “Social Media Campaigning: Mobilization and Fundraising on Facebook.” Social Science Quarterly 99 (1): 185–200.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Benkler, Yochai, Faris, Robert, and Roberts, Hal. 2018. Network Propaganda: Manipulation, Disinformation, and Radicalization in American Politics. New York: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bennett, Lance. 2008. “Digital Natives as Self Actualizing Citizen.” In Rebooting America: Ideas for Redesigning American Democracy for the Internet Age, edited by Fine, Alison, Sifry, Micah, and Rasiej, Andrew. New York: Personal Democracy Press, pp. 225–230.Google Scholar
Bennett, W. Lance, and Segerberg, Alexandra. 2011. “Digital Media and the Personalization of Collective Action: Social Technology and the Organization of Protests against the Global Economic Crisis.” Information, Communication & Society 14 (6): 770–799.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bessi, Alessandro, and Ferrara, Emilio. 2016. “Social Bots Distort the 2016 US Presidential Election Online Discussion.” First Monday 21 (11): 1–14.Google Scholar
Bimber, Bruce. 2014. “Digital Media in the Obama Campaigns of 2008 and 2012: Adaptation to the Personalized Political Communication Environment.” Journal of Information Technology & Politics 11 (2): 130–150.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, Danny, and Fiorella, Sam. 2013. Influence Marketing: How to Create, Manage, and Measure Brand Influencers in Social Media Marketing. Indianapolis: Que Publishing.Google Scholar
Buenaobra, Maria Isabel T. 2016. “Social Media: A Game Changer in Philippines Elections,” The Asia Foundation, April 27. Accessed 10 December, 2017. https://asiafoundation.org/2016/04/27/social-media-a-game-changer-in-philippine-elections/.Google Scholar
Casero-Ripollés, Andreu, Feenstra, Ramón A., and Tormey, Simon. 2016. “Old and New Media Logics in an Electoral Campaign: The Case of Podemos and the Two-Way Street Mediatization of Politics.” The International Journal of Press/Politics 21 (3): 378–397.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ceron, Andrea, and d'Adda, Giovanna. 2016. “E-Campaigning on Twitter: The Effectiveness of Distributive Promises and Negative Campaign in the 2013 Italian Election.” New Media & Society 18 (9): 1935–1955.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
CNN Philippines. 2016. “Duterte Is Most Talked-About Presidential Candidate on Facebook.” CNN Philippines, April 22. Accessed September 12, 2018. http://cnnphilippines.com/news/2016/04/22/Rodrigo-Duterte-Facebook-conversations.html.Google Scholar
Cornelio, Jayeel, and Medina, Erron. 2018. “Duterte's Enduring Popularity Is Not Just a Political Choice—It Is Also Religious.” New Mandala. Accessed August 9, 2019. www.newmandala.org/dutertes-enduring-popularity-not-just-political-choice-also-religious/Google Scholar
Curato, Nicole. 2016. “Politics of Anxiety, Politics of Hope: Penal Populism and Duterte's Rise to Power.” Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs 35 (3): 91–109.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Curato, Nicole. 2017. The Duterte Reader: Critical Essays on Rodrigo Duterte's Early Presidency. Ithaca: Cornell University Press and Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press.Google Scholar
Easley, David, and Kleinberg, Jon. 2010. Networks, Crowds, and Markets: Reasoning about a Highly Connected World. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Enli, Gunn. 2017. “Twitter as Arena for the Authentic Outsider: Exploring the Social Media Campaigns of Trump and Clinton in the 2016 US Presidential Election.” European Journal of Communication 32 (1): 50–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Enli, Gunn, and Skogerbø, Eli. 2013. “Personalized Campaigns in Party-Centred politics: Twitter and Facebook as Arenas for Political Communication.” Information, Communication & Society 16 (5): 757–774.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gavilan, Jodesz. 2016. “Duterte's P10M Social Media Campaign: Organic, Volunteer-Driven.” Rappler, June 1. Accessed September 12, 2018. www.rappler.com/newsbreak/rich-media/134979-rodrigo-duterte-social-media-campaign-nic-gabunadaGoogle Scholar
Gibson, Rachel. 2015. “Party Change, Social Media and the Rise of ‘Citizen-Initiated’ Campaigning.” Party Politics 21 (2): 183–197.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gilmore, Jason. 2012. “Ditching the Pack: Digital Media in the 2010 Brazilian Congressional Campaigns.” New Media & Society 14 (4): 617–633.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grant, Will J., Moon, Brenda, and Grant, Janie Busby. 2010. “Digital Dialogue? Australian Politicians’ Use of the Social Network Tool Twitter.” Australian Journal of Political Science 45 (4): 579–604.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grömping, Max, and Sinpeng, Aim. 2018. “The ‘Crowd-Factor’ in Connective Action: Comparing Protest Communication Styles of Thai Facebook Pages.” Journal of Information Technology & Politics 15 (3): 197–214.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Groshek, Jacob, and Dimitrova, Daniela. 2011. “A Cross-Section of Voter Learning, Campaign Interest and Intention to Vote in the 2008 American Election: Did Web 2.0 Matter.” Communication Studies Journal 9 (1): 355–375.Google Scholar
Harfoush, Rahaf. 2009. Yes We Did! An Inside Look at How Social Media Built the Obama Brand. San Francisco: New Riders.Google Scholar
Holmes, Ronald. 2016. “The Dark Side of Electoralism: Opinion Polls and Voting in the Philippine Presidential Election” Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs 35 (3): 15–38.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hong, Sounman, and Nadler, Daniel. 2012. “Which Candidates Do the Public Discuss Online in an Election Campaign? The Use of Social Media by 2012 Presidential Candidates and its Impact on Candidate Salience.” Government Information Quarterly 29 (4): 455–461.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jamieson, Kathleen Hall. 2018. Cyberwar: How Russian Hackers and Trolls Helped Elect a President What We Don't, Can't, and Do Know. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Jorge, Nuno da Silva, Pimenta, Luis, Farinha, Sara. 2014. “From the Inside of Obama's 2012 Grassroots Campaign: A Portuguese Perspective.” American Behavioral Scientist 58 (7): 869–879.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kemp, Simon. 2016. “Digital in APAC 2016.” We Are Social, September 6. Accessed September 10, 2018. https://wearesocial.com/special-reports/digital-in-apac-2016.Google Scholar
Kemp, Simon. 2018. “Digital in 2018: World's Internet Users Pass the 4 Billion Mark.” We Are Social, January 30. Accessed September 10, 2018. https://wearesocial.com/blog/2018/01/global-digital-report-2018.Google Scholar
Kreiss, Daniel. 2016. “Seizing the Moment: The Presidential Campaigns’ Use of Twitter during the 2012 Electoral Cycle.” New Media & Society 18 (8): 1473–1490.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kruikemeier, Sanne, van Noort, Guda, Vliegenthart, Rens, and de Vreese, Claes H. 2013. “Getting Closer: The Effects of Personalized and Interactive Online Political Communication.” European Journal of Communication 28 (1): 53–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kushin, Matthew James, and Yamamoto, Masahiro. 2010. “Did Social Media Really Matter? College Students’ Use of Online Media and Political Decision Making in the 2008 Election.” Mass Communication and Society 13 (5): 608–630.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
LaMarre, Heather L., and Suzuki-Lambrecht, Yoshikazu. 2013. “Tweeting Democracy? Examining Twitter as an Online Public Relations Strategy for Congressional Campaigns.” Public Relations Review 39 (4): 360–368.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Larsson, Anders Olof, and Kalsnes, Bente. 2014. “Of Course We Are on Facebook: Use and Non-Use of Social Media among Swedish and Norwegian Politicians.” European Journal of Communication 29 (6): 653–667.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Larsson, Anders Olof, and Moe, Hallvard. 2012. “Studying Political Microblogging: Twitter Users in the 2010 Swedish Election Campaign.” New Media & Society 14 (5): 729–747.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lilleker, Darren G., and Jackson, Nigel A.. 2010. “Towards a More Participatory Style of Election Campaigning: The Impact of Web 2.0 on the UK 2010 General Election.” Policy & Internet 2 (3): 69–98.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Loader, Brian, and Mercea, Dan, 2011. “Networking Democracy? Social Media Innovations and Participatory Politics.” Information, Communication & Society 14 (6): 757–769.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Loader, Brian, and Mercea, Dan, eds. 2012. Social Media and Democracy: Innovations in Participatory Politics. London: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ong, Jonathan Corpus, and Cabañes, Jason Vincent A.. 2018. “Architects of Networked Disinformation: Behind the Scenes of Troll Accounts and Fake News Production in the Philippines.” The Newton Tech4Dev Network, February 5. Accessed 12 September 2018. http://newtontechfordev.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/ARCHITECTS-OF-NETWORKED-DISINFORMATION-FULL-REPORT.pdf.Google Scholar
Ranada, Pia. 2016. “Why Duterte's Message of ‘Care and Power’ Attracts,” The Rappler, April 26, 2016. Accessed September 9, 2018. www.rappler.com/newsbreak/in-depth/130827-rodrigo-duterte-message-care-power-supporters.Google Scholar
Ressa, Maria. 2016. “Propaganda War: Weaponizing the Internet.” Rappler, October 3. Accessed September 12, 2018. www.rappler.com/nation/148007-propaganda-war-weaponizing-InternetGoogle Scholar
Teehankee, Julio C. and Thompson, Mark R.. 2016. “Electing A Strongman.” Journal of Democracy 27 (4): 125–134.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vergeer, Maurice, and Hermans, Liesbeth. 2013. “Campaigning on Twitter: Microblogging and Online Social Networking as Campaign Tools in the 2010 General Elections in the Netherlands.” Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 18 (4): 399–419.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wells, Chris. 2015. The Civic Organization and the Digital Citizen: Communicating Engagement in a Networked Age. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Williams, Christine B. and Gulati, Girish J.. 2013. “Social Networks in Political Campaigns: Facebook and the Congressional Elections of 2006 and 2008.” New Media & Society 15 (1): 52–71.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Woolley, Samuel and Howard, Philip. 2017. “Computational Propaganda Worldwide: Executive Summary.” Oxford Internet Institute Computational Propaganda Research Project, Working paper No. 2017.11. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:d6157461-aefd-48ff-a9a9-2d93222a9bfd/download_file?file_format=pdf&safe_filename=Casestudies-ExecutiveSummary.pdf&type_of_work=Record.Google Scholar