Government’s echo. Twitter discussions around news topics in Russian networked authoritarianism

ABSTRACT

This research uses the Social Network Analysis (SNA) method to determine the main actors in Twitter discussions around news topics. First, using the theory of networked authoritarianism (MacKinnon, 2011), it conceptualizes the ways that authoritarian states may influence domestic media and the broader Internet, taking Russia as our case study. It describes Russia’s media system and the incentives behind it. Next, it discusses the role of Twitter in authoritarian societies and defines Twitter’s role in today’s Russia. Methodology and results are followed by an exploration of the involvement of state-loyal actors in online discussions of the news, including those centered on social media in support of Russia’s domestic and international priorities, aiming to set the agenda on sensitive news topics and, thus, support existing authoritarian elites while diminishing voices of opposition.

KEYWORDS:

• Authoritarianism
• Russia
• Twitter
• media
• social network analysis

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Daria Dergacheva

Daria Dergacheva is the 4th year PhD student at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Department of Communication Sciences and Journalism. She received a Chevening scholarship and graduated from the School of Media at the University of Westminster in 2013. Before that, she worked in the Russian media for over 10 years.

Anna Tous-Rovirosa

Dr. Anna Tous-Rovirosa PhD in Journalism and Communication, Autonomous University of Barcelona, with a research on US TV series, a study that won the II Research on Communication Award by the Catalan Audiovisual Council (CAC). She is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Communication Sciences (UAB) and has been Visiting Scholar at the Rühr University (Bochum, Germany) and at the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), Brazil, with a postdoctoral grant. She is a researcher on On-Line Journalism and Audiovisual Narrative.