Retweets for policy advocates: Tweet diffusion in the policy discussion space of universal basic income

Jeff Hemsley, Martha A Garcia-Murillo, Ian P. MacInnes

Research output: Chapter in Book/Entry/PoemConference contribution

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

Technological advances have increasingly automated tasks that have hitherto been done by humans. The disruption to the labor market is expected to grow as more and more jobs are lost to automation. Society would benefit from the open discussion of alternative policy approaches, such as Universal Basic Income (UBI), that can alleviate social tensions related to joblessness. In this study, we examine tweets related to the discussion of UBI in an effort to understand the types of messages most likely to spread information about policy innovations, and most likely to bring new voices into the discussion. We find that messages that resonate with users are more likely to reach new audiences and bring new actors into the discussion space. Our work offers prescriptions for policy advocates, and provides insights for social scientists studying Twitter and policy and information diffusion.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publication8th International Conference on Social Media and Society
Subtitle of host publicationSocial Media for Good or Evil, #SMSociety 2017
PublisherAssociation for Computing Machinery
ISBN (Electronic)9781450348478
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 28 2017
Event8th International International Conference on Social Media and Society, #SMSociety 2017 - Toronto, Canada
Duration: Jul 28 2017Jul 30 2017

Publication series

NameACM International Conference Proceeding Series
VolumePart F129683

Other

Other8th International International Conference on Social Media and Society, #SMSociety 2017
Country/TerritoryCanada
CityToronto
Period7/28/177/30/17

Keywords

  • Diffusion
  • Income Inequality
  • Information Flow
  • Policy
  • Policy Innovation
  • Social Networks
  • Twitter
  • Universal Basic Income

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Software
  • Human-Computer Interaction
  • Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition
  • Computer Networks and Communications

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