Twitter as a tool of unofficial negative campaign: an analysis of the 2016 mayoral election campaign in Rio de Janeiro

Abstract

This paper analyzes the dissemination of an unofficial negative
campaign on Twitter, during the 2016 mayoral election campaign in Rio de Janeiro. The sponsorship of attack messages in electoral races by groups not officially linked to parties and candidates is a strategy little studied in Brazil. To fill this gap, we analyzed the messages posted on Twitter during the second round of that election by the partisans from the main candidates Marcelo Crivella (PRB) and Marcelo Freixo (PSOL), as well as by networks supporting and attacking them. The methodology includes Content Analysis, Social Network Analysis and statistical analysis of an initial sample of 530,000 tweets gathered through Twitter Search
API, reaching a final sample of 11,407 posts classified as negative. The results show that the main negative campaign agents have different roles and profiles on Twitter, being identified as influencers or disseminators of attack contents.