Social Media and Politics is a podcast bringing you innovative, first-hand insights into how social media is changing the political game. Subscribe for interviews and analysis with politicians, academics, and leading digital strategists to get their take on how social media influences the ways we engage with politics and democracy. Social Media and Politics is hosted by Michael Bossetta, political scientist at Lund University. Check out the podcast's official website: https://socialmediaandpolitics.org.
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episode 151: Data Journalism to Report Social Media and Politics, with Aleszu Bajak
Aleszu Bajak, Senior Data Reporter at USA Today, discusses his reporting on social media and politics using computational methods. We talk about the types of data that data journalists are working with, how they acquire it (e.g., Freedom of Information Requests), and how they approach reporting results in a way that tells an engaging story. We also dive into some of Aleszu's recent reporting, such as Parler reactions to Donald Trump's speech on January 6th, inequalities in Covid vaccinations, and the polarization of Congressional political rhetoric on social media over time.
Here are some links to the stories we discuss in the episode:
'Hope' is out, 'Fight' is in: Does Tweeting Divide Congress, or Simply Echo its Divisions?
When Trump Started his Speech before the Capital Riot, Talk on Parler turned to Civil War
How Critical Race Theory went from Conservative Battle Cry to Mainstream Powder Keg
And here's Aleszu's talk on tracking politics with data journalism - highly recommend!