The massive adoption of social media and digital platforms by organisations and citizens has been affecting many social activities and the relationship between government and society. This dissemination increased information spread and interaction, facilitating governmental communication and service delivery. At the same time, potential negative impacts on the population increased the government’s concerns with the challenges of monitoring and regulating such platforms. Based on this context, the Track accepts papers with theoretical and practical contributions, new methods of analysis, case studies, and other perspectives related to the use of digital media by governments and society. This Track welcomes papers investigating the role of social media and digital platforms in enhancing and promoting government activities, including communication and engagement strategies and the use of social media data. It also invites studies on the operation of social media and digital platforms, such as algorithm mechanisms, filter bubbles, and their influence on democracy, social movements, and trust in governments. Topics of interest include but are not limited to the use of social media and digital platforms in public policies, such as education and health policies; adoption of social media and digital platforms to communicate and engage with society; regulation and initiatives to fight against misinformation, disinformation, fake news, and deep fakes; impacts of digital media on democracy, trust and citizens’ rights; and the use of digital media data for crisis and emergency management, such as geolocation and AI-based interventions.
#1 - Does government hear citizenry? The quality of deliberative practice between authorities and citizens on social media in Russia | Daniil Volkovskii (National Research University Higher School of Economics, Russia), Olga Filatova (St.-Petersburg State University, Russia & ITMO University, Russia), Svetlana Bodrunova, Radomir Bolgov (St. Petersburg State University, Russia)
#2 - Polviz: Assessing Opinion Polarization in Social Media through Visual Analytics and Argumentation | Gabriela Diaz, Dana Urribarri, M. Ganuza, Carlos Chesñevar, Ana Maguitman (ICIC CONICET & Universidad Nacional del Sur, Argentina), Elsa Estevez (National University of the South, Argentina)
#3 - Social Media for Predicting the Mexican Presidential Election: Beyond X and Facebook | Héctor Gutiérrez, Alejandro De León Languré, Mahdi Zareei (Tecnológico de Monterrey, Mexico), Kellyton dos Santos Brito (Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Brazil)
#4 - Portuguese political leaders on Twitter/X during the 2024 electoral campaign: An exploratory study | Gonçalo Dias (University of Aveiro, Portugal)
#5 - Towards a Methodology for Analyzing Visual Elements in Social Media Posts of Politicians | José Santana, Maria Gabrielly Anísio De Santana, Pablo Azevedo Sampaio, Kellyton dos Santos Brito (Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Brazil)
