PROPOSAL ON THE ROLE OF THE SOCIAL MEDIA ON INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC OPINION

Abstract

Since the establishment of international news channel which covers 24-hour news cycle, it became clear that public opinion was subject to constant potential influence and flux. Even before then, those seeking to trace campaign effects in elections had acknowledged that daily surveys were needed if the dynamics of public opinion were to be explained as well as observed. It may be very hard to tell which moves first out of elite behavior, media messages and public opinion, but it is easy to see that all three move fast. The study intend to ascertain the role of social media on international public opinion

INTRODUCTION

Social media tools such as Twitter and blogs have made a profound impact on mass media in the United States. In the last year alone, society has been witness to a swell of new blogs and media influencers while traditional media outlets in major cities have suffered cutbacks or outright liquidation (Blankenheim, 2009). This trend will no doubt have a permanent effect on the face of mass media in this country, but as the effects of these changes proliferate one must consider the impact of social media on public opinion and the shaping of an individual’s social decision-making environment. At the same time, longstanding theories about public opinion – such as the spiral of silence – are challenged by this new media environment and the behaviors associated with individual interaction within it. This thesis will explore the impact of these changes on the longstanding spiral of silence theory while providing a fresh perspective on the forming of public and individual opinion in social media environs. Even before then, those seeking to trace campaign effects in elections had acknowledged that daily surveys were needed if the dynamics of public opinion were to be explained as well as observed. It may be very hard to tell which moves first out of elite behaviour, media messages and public opinion, but it is easy to see that all three move fast. Sadly, survey research, the traditional method of charting public sentiment, is slow. It is also expensive, and getting more so as coverage and response rates decline. While the arrival of online surveys has improved speed, flexibility and cost-effectiveness, opinions can rarely be measured continuously but only at fixed and relatively broad intervals, limiting responsiveness to key or unexpected events. These limitations have restricted our knowledge of the dynamics of public opinion. There is now an alternative. The advent of the Internet, and social media and weblogs in particular, has not only transformed political communication by providing new means for party campaigning, elite communication and citizen participation. They are also an important new outlet for the expression and reporting of public attitudes. As such, they are a major source of data for public opinion researchers. Social media has been defined in many ways, but for the purposes of this report, we borrow the definition from Murphy, Hill, and Dean (2013), which is relevant for public opinion and survey research: “Social media is the collection of websites and web-based systems that allow for mass interaction, conversation, and sharing among members of a network.” Social media platforms have proliferated in recent years with a rapid increase in adoption and use by both members of the general public and specific subpopulations. Social media is not defined by a single type of platform or data. The list of popular platforms is long and can change rapidly. Platform types include blogs, microblogs, social networking services, content sharing and discussion sites, and virtual worlds. According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project, as of 2013, 81% of the U.S. adult population had Internet access, and of that population, 73% used social media. This rate differs most significantly by age group, but has increased dramatically over the last several years among all age groups. The largest demographic difference is by age. Social networking sites are currently being used by 9 in 10 18-29 year olds but fewer than half of the 65+ population. (Duggan and Smith, 2013a). Although social media popularity overall has skyrocketed in recent years, the popularity of individual social media sites has risen and fallen over time. Certain other social media platforms are highly popular outside the U.S. And many platforms have changed in the features and access they offer over time. Data from social media platforms capture a variety of information and come in several different formats, with different access methods and levels of availability. Social media data can be purely text based or include audio or visual components. Data from social media sites can be accessed directly through the platform itself or through a range of partially to fully automated methods. The specific types of information available can also change rapidly in the social media world. Platforms sometimes release large changes in both features and access with little to no warning. A bounty of data is freely available to researchers, but the availability of data for research purposes is largely dependent on the terms and conditions of each site and is subject to change with little or no notice. By taking public opinion as the object of study and social media as the source of data, we provide a clear focus for the study. But both key terms can and should be interpreted broadly, there are some circumstances were public opinion might be a dependent variable, and independent variable, a target for measurement or a concept for theorising on the role of the social media on international public opinion.

The advent of mass communication in the late 20th century has dramatically enhanced the ability of governments to influence and communicate with the public. The political effects of transnational broadcasting are appealing for public diplomacy owing to its potential to reach the masses efficiently and inexpensively. In the 1930s the UK and Germany sought to use radio to influence public opinion as far afield as the US. Following the September 11 attacks in 2001, the US adopted mass communication as a ‘weapon of war’ to fight the rising cynicism against the West in the Islamic World. Although broadcasting government policy to the foreign public remains strong, governments are also making increasing use of social media in the form of ‘web-based tools and services that allow users to comment, create, share, rate and search content and information’. The ability to connect users and their ideas across the most complex geographical divides means that social media is a ‘fundamental game changer’. Its capabilities will only expand as the Internet becomes progressively cheaper and more widely available. Such potential is already playing out as new technological developments are converging to create more possibilities, as seen with the online capabilities of handheld mobile devices. This means that users are increasingly able to access common social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and, in the case of China, Sina Weibo

The use of social media as a tool for public diplomacy originated in 2009, during the failed Green Revolution in Iran. By 2011 the US foreign affairs department (followed by the UK and Australia respectively) led in the use of social media tools to promote its ‘digital diplomacy’. In the digital age, it is no longer sufficient for policymakers to partake in one-way speak. Instead they are required to continually interact and converse with the public at home and abroad. The 2012 US presidential election (also known as the ‘social media election’) attests to this. Unlike previous elections, in 2012 almost every US voter had a mobile phone that they made use of to access the Internet. In response both presidential candidates, Mitt Romney and Barrack Obama, adopted online strategies to reach voting demographics. As the digital director for the Romney campaign, Zachary Moffatt, said, ‘the more people you interact with the more likely you are to win’. Social media amplified this interaction through sharing the candidates’ most intimate details, from personal photographs to their favourite recipes and playlists. Communicating to the online public extends beyond open democracies to places where few other spaces for political interaction exist. In countries like Egypt, Tunisia and Yemen the social media has become a platform to distribute uncensored public information among users. The social media aided Arab Spring activists in breaking down ‘the psychological barrier of fear by helping many to connect and share information’ – and, in some cases, in helping to organise physical protests. Parallel to the creation of a new public space is also government response via social media platforms. Following the 2009 presidential elections in Iran, opinions among the country’s Twitter users changed from anger directed towards the US and Israel (countries with traditionally tense relations with Iran) to negative feelings towards the government in Iran. Instead of removing antigovernment rhetoric, as would have been done in the past, Iran’s government has begun responding to opposition voices with its own blogs that support the Basiji Resistance Force and promote nationalistic ideals.23 Beyond domestic political contestation, social media also has real implications for public diplomacy. Its instantaneous nature has made policymaking more haphazard, ‘hesitant and reactive’24 than before. For instance, in September 2012, large protests erupted across the Muslim world when a 13-minute trailer to an anti-Islamic film (titled Innocence of Muslims) was uploaded on YouTube. The video’s rapid spread had diplomatic ramifications. It incited deep-seated feelings that led to assaults at the US embassy in Cairo and consulate in Benghazi; and eventually to the death of the US ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens. The advent of social media has led to the propagation of power into unconventional hands, beyond those in positions of authority. These days breaking news is likely to occur online before it is broadcast on television, as seen in the case of the Arabic satellite network, Al Jazeera, which often relies on citizens to supply content that the news media cannot usually access. At the push of a button, information and visual aids (that can determine political fates) are sent across the world in ‘real-time’. This is made even more efficient with the advent of Internet tools like OnlyWire that allow the automation of content across various networking platforms. In addition, the world continues to use primarily US media sites, including users who have circumvented state media regulations in their home countries, which means the fate and choices of US technology firms hold larger implications for the world.

Although the social media has far-reaching implications and creates new elements in the area of diplomacy, its ability to influence policymaking remains unpredictable and userdependent. Its effects can either lead to large-scale protests and riots, as witnessed in the Muslim world, or generate a lack of meaningful response, as seen with the online appeals for a Chinese-style ‘Jasmine Revolution’. These different cases suggest that social media influence on politics varies from case to case and at most it is a conduit tool in a larger pool of motivating factors. Regarding the China situation, it remains to be seen whether social media provides government or the public with greater power. The new technology comes with highly sophisticated methods and tools (sometimes with the assistance of Internet companies) to filter and monitor public views. Consequently, the rise of social media technologies and Internet penetration in authoritarian states does not necessarily mean the decline of such regimes. Nevertheless, social media is changing Chinese society. This is evidenced in the 2003 SARS epidemic, during which online chat rooms overrode the tightly controlled traditional media and face-to-face interaction to inform the public about the disease. Online public opinion and its influence are difficult to measure. It is challenging to pinpoint the geographic origins of online opinions and whether such views belong to individuals, groups or organisations. Questions are also being raised on the authenticity and influence of social media in informing the masses, as user-generated content still attracts fewer viewers than traditional media. Using social media for accurate quantitative analysis is difficult. Although online public opinion is not easily measured, social media can reveal the direction of new trends, sentiments and reactions of ordinary users in real-life situations. With regard to China, a country where the decision-making process remains confined to the top leadership, it is worth understanding the elevated potential of online public influence on policy process.

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

Public opinion in Nigeria has gain prominence and recognition in the international community since the advent of social media in Nigeria. This is because it is no longer cumbersome in passing once or group opinion across to the outside world. But the major challenge on the role of the social media on international public opinion still remain in the literacy level of the users of this media as most information published on the media is characterized with bias and political affiliation. Social publishing tools consist of a unique communication medium framed in the construct of computer-mediated communication. They include consumer-generated content on sites such as YouTube and Twitter as well as the proliferation of personal and professional blogs. By their very nature, these tools are subject to a profound lack of traditional social context cues (Griffith, 2009), and increase the instances of anonymous activity. This creates a compelling new set of challenges for traditional communication theory and theorists, particularly NoelleNeumann’s spiral of silence (Noelle-Neumann, 1984). As she put forth in the theory, NoelleNeumann believed that the process of opinion forming and sharing was based on one’s.

Related Project Topics :