The Flow of Online Political Communication - A case study of Donald Trump's 2016 presidential election campaign
Author
Vedel, Jesper Andreas
Term
4. term
Publication year
2019
Abstract
This thesis examines how digital technologies and political marketing shape the flow of online political communication through a case study of Donald Trump’s 2016 U.S. presidential campaign. Using an adaptive, theory-building approach rooted in critical theory, it integrates insights from the Two-Step Flow and One-Step Flow models to develop a model of communication in a digital media environment. Empirically, the study analyzes three facets of Trump’s online campaign: his interactions with mass media, the campaign’s use of data-driven political marketing, and Trump’s role as an online opinion leader on Twitter. The analysis finds that data and psychographic profiling were central to strategy formation, micro-segmented targeting, and continuous feedback, optimizing messaging across media relations, personal tweets, and targeted advertising, indicating a spillover from commercial marketing into politics. The proposed model is used to discuss democratic implications, arguing that while data-enabled practices can optimize communication, they also risk undermining liberal-democratic values and the ideal of a public sphere, warranting a critical stance toward contemporary online political communication.
Dette speciale undersøger, hvordan digitale teknologier og politisk marketing former strømmen af online politisk kommunikation med udgangspunkt i Donald Trumps præsidentvalgkamp i 2016. Med en adaptiv, teoriopbyggende tilgang forankret i kritisk teori integrerer det indsigter fra Two-Step Flow og One-Step Flow modellerne for at udvikle en model for kommunikation i et digitalt mediemiljø. Empirisk analyserer studiet tre forhold i Trumps online kampagne: hans samspil med massemedierne, kampagnens brug af datadrevet politisk marketing og Trump som online opinionsleder på Twitter. Analysen viser, at data og psykografisk profilering var centrale for strategilægning, mikrosegmenteret målretning og løbende feedback, hvilket optimerede budskaber på tværs af mediehåndtering, personlige tweets og målrettet annoncering og afspejler et spillover fra kommerciel marketing til politik. Modellen anvendes til at diskutere demokratiske konsekvenser og peger på, at selv om datadrevne praksisser kan optimere kommunikationen, kan de også underminere liberaldemokratiske værdier og idealet om en offentlig sfære; derfor anbefales en kritisk tilgang til nutidig online politisk kommunikation.
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