Optimistic Narratives in South America: The Low Frequency of Negative Messages on Presidential Candidates' Social Media
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26441/RC24.2-2025-3941Keywords:
social media, negative campaigning, candidates, political communication, public debateAbstract
Purpose. This article analyzes negative campaigns on social media during presidential elections in seven South American countries. Methodology. Through a content analysis of 15,073 posts on X, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, the study investigates the predominant type of message (positive, contrast, or negative), the social network with the highest concentration of negative content, the dimension of these messages (personal or political), and the influence of the candidate's ideology. Results and Conclusions. The results show that the majority of the messages are positive (80%). X turned out to be the platform with the highest presence of negative messages, although these are mainly focused on the political dimension of the candidates. No significant differences were found in the use of negative campaigns between left-wing and right-wing candidates. Original Contribution. In summary, the findings suggest that, despite the rise of social media, negative campaigns are not dominant in the analyzed region, and when they do occur, they mainly focus on the political aspects of the candidates.
Metrics
References
Abramowitz, A., & McCoy, J. (2019). United States: Racial resentment, negative partisanship and polarization in Trump’s America. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716218811309 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716218811309
Albertazzi, D., & Bonansinga, D. (2023). Beyond anger: The populist radical right on TikTok. Journal of Contemporary European Studies, 32(3), 673–689. https://doi.org/10.1080/14782804.2022.2163380 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14782804.2022.2163380
Al-Rawi, A. (2021). Political memes and fake news discourses on Instagram. Media and Communication, 9(1), 121-140. https://doi.org/10.17645/mac.v9i1.3533 DOI: https://doi.org/10.17645/mac.v9i1.3533
Aruguete, N. (2019). Network-Activated Frames (NAF), Redefining Framing in a New Digital Era. In M. Peters & R. Heraud (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Educational Innovation. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2262-4_55-1 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2262-4_55-1
Auter, Z. J., & Fine, J. A. (2016). Negative campaigning in the social media age: Attack advertising on Facebook. Political Behavior, 38, 999–1020. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11109-016-9346-8 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11109-016-9346-8
Balaban, D., Macková, A., Burai, K., Grechanaya, T., & Gërguri, D. (2024). The Relationship Between Topics, Negativity, and User Engagement in Election Campaigns on Facebook. Politics and Governance, 12, Article 8098. https://doi.org/10.17645/pag.8098 DOI: https://doi.org/10.17645/pag.8098
Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo. (2024, 6 de marzo). Las complejidades de la desigualdad en América Latina y el Caribe. https://www.iadb.org/es/noticias/las-complejidades-de-la-desigualdad-en-america-latina-y-el-caribe
Baranowski, P., Kruschinski, S., Russmann, U., Haßler, J., Magin, M., Márton, B., … Lilleker, D. (2022). Patterns of Negative Campaigning during the 2019 European Election: Political Parties’ Facebook Posts and Users’ Sharing Behaviour across Twelve Countries. Journal of Information Technology & Politics, 20(4), 375–392. https://doi.org/10.1080/19331681.2022.2115598 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/19331681.2022.2115598
Baumeister, R. F., Bratslavsky, E., Finkenauer, C., & Vohs, K. D. (2001). Bad is Stronger than Good. Review of General Psychology, 5(4), 323-370. https://doi.org/10.1037/1089-2680.5.4.323 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037//1089-2680.5.4.323
Bebbington, K., MacLeod, C., Ellison, T. M., & Fay, N. (2017). The sky is falling: Evidence of a negativity bias in the social transmission of information. Evolution and Human Behavior, 38(1), 92–101. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2016.07.004 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2016.07.004
Benoit, W. L. 1999. Seeing spots: A functional analysis of presidential television advertising, 1952–1996, Westport, CT: Praeger. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5040/9798216012450
Benoit, W. L. (2013). Political election debates: Informing voters about policy and character. Lexington Books. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5771/9780739184110
Brooks, D. J., & Geer, J. G. (2007). Beyond negativity: The effects of incivility on the electorate. American Journal of Political Science, 51(1), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5907.2007.00233.x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5907.2007.00233.x
Bruni, L. A. (2024). Polarización electoral: propuesta de conceptualización y medición (Tesis de maestría). FLACSO.
Ceron, A., & D’Adda, G. (2015). E-campaigning on Twitter: The effectiveness of distributive promises and negative campaign in the 2013 Italian election. New Media and Society, 18(9), 1935–1955. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444815571915 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444815571915
Crigler, A., Just, M., & Belt, T. (2006). The three faces of negative campaigning: The democratic implications of attack ads, cynical news, and fear-arousing messages. En D. P. Redlawsk (Ed.), Feeling politics: Emotion in political information processing (pp. 135– 163). Palgrave Macmillan.https://doi.org/10.1057/9781403983114_8 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781403983114_8
Duckitt, J. (2006). Differential effects of right-wing authoritarianism and social dominance orientation on outgroup attitudes and their mediation by threat from and competitiveness to outgroups. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 32(5), 684–696. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167205284282 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167205284282
Elmelund-Præstekær, C. (2010). Beyond American negativity: Toward a general understanding of the determinants of negative campaigning. European Political Science Review, 2(1), 137–156. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1755773909990269 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1755773909990269
Eriksson, K., & Coultas, J. C. (2014). Corpses, maggots, poodles and rats: Emotional selection operating in three phases of cultural transmission of urban legends. Journal of Cognition and Culture, 14(1–2), 1–26. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1163/ 15685 373- 12342 107 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/15685373-12342107
Finkel, S. & Geer, J. G. (1998). A spot check: Casting doubt on the demobilizing effect of attack advertising. American Journal of Political Science, 42(2), 573–595. https://doi.org/10.2307/2991771 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/2991771
Fletcher, R., Cornia, A., Nielsen, R. K., & Kleis Nielsen, R. (2020). How Polarized Are Online and Offline News Audiences? A Comparative Analysis of Twelve Countries Research Article. International Journal of Press/Politics, 25(2), 169–195. https://doi.org/10.1177/1940161219892768 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1940161219892768
Forti, S. (2021). Extrema derecha 2.0: Retos y amenazas en la era digital. Siglo XXI.
Frimer, J. A., Brandt, M. J., Melton, Z., & Motyl, M. (2019). Extremists on the left and right use angry, negative language. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 45(8), 1216–1231. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167218809705 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167218809705
García Beaudoux, V. y D´Adamo, O. 2013. Propuesta de una matriz de codificación para el análisis de las campañas negativas. Opera. 13, 13 (nov. 2013), 7–23. https://doi.org/10.18601/16578651.n13.02
García-Beaudoux, V., Berrocal, S., D'Adamo, O., & Bruni, L. (2023). Female political leadership styles as shown on Instagram during COVID-19. [Estilos de liderazgo político femenino en Instagram durante la COVID-19]. Comunicar, 75, 129-138. https://doi.org/10.3916/C75-2023-10 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3916/C75-2023-10
Geer, J. G. (2006). In defense of negativity: Attack ads in presidential campaigns. University of Chicago Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226285009.001.0001
Jamieson, K., Waldman, P., & Sheer, S. (2000). Eliminate the negative? Defining and refining categories of analysis for political advertisements. En J. A. Thurber, C. J. Nelson, & D. Dulio (Eds.), Crowded airwaves. Brookings Institution 4o mini.
Johnson-Cartee, K. S., & Copeland, G. (1989). Southern voters reactions to negative political ads in the 1986 election. Journalism Quarterly, 66(4), 888–893, 986. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/107769908906600417
Kemp, S. (2024). Digital 2024 Global Overview Report. DataReportal.
Krippendorff, K. (1990). Metodología de análisis de contenido: Teoría y práctica. Paidós.
Latinobarómetro. Una democracia resiliente. Santiago: Corporación Latinobarómetro, 2024. Recuperado de https://www.latinobarometro.org/lat.jsp.
Lau, R. R., & Rovner, I. B. (2009). Negative campaigning. Annual Review of Political Science, 12, 285-306. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.polisci.10.071905.101448 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.polisci.10.071905.101448
La Vanguardia. (2024, noviembre 14). La Vanguardia dejará de publicar en X, convertido en red de desinformación. La Vanguardia. https://www.lavanguardia.com/vida/20241114/10105193/vanguardia-dejara-publicar-x-convertido-red-desinformacion.html
Lelkes, Y., Sood, G., & Iyengar, S. (2017). The hostile audience: The effect of access to broadband Internet on partisan affect. American Journal of Political Science, 61(1), 5-20. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajps.12237 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ajps.12237
Lutsenko, D. (2024). Is Negative Campaigning a Response to a Dynamic Polling Environment? Evidence from Facebook and Twitter Posts by German Party Leaders in the 2021 German Federal Election. German Politics, 1–31. https://doi.org/10.1080/09644008.2024.2413480 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09644008.2024.2413480
Martin, D. y Nai, A. (2024). Deepening the rift: Negative campaigning fosters affective polarization in multiparty elections. Electoral studies, 87: 102745. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electstud.2024.102745 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electstud.2024.102745
Nai, A. (2020). Going negative, worldwide: Towards a general understanding of determinants and targets of negative campaigning. Government and Opposition, 55(3), 430–455. https://doi.org/10.1017/gov.2018.32 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/gov.2018.32
Nai, A., & Sciarini, P. (2015). Why ‘going negative’? Strategic and situational determinants of personal attacks in Swiss direct democratic votes. Journal of Political Marketing, 17(4), 382–417. https://doi.org/10.1080/15377857.2015.1058310 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15377857.2015.1058310
Nai, A., & Walter, A. (Eds.). (2015). New perspectives on negative campaigning: Why attack politics matters. ECPR Press.
Nai, A. & Seeberg, H. B. (2018). A series of persuasive events: Sequencing effects of negative and positive messages on party evaluations and perceptions of negativity. Journal of Marketing Communications, 24(4), 412-432. https://doi.org/10.1080/13527266.2018.1428672 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13527266.2018.1428672
Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Alimentación y la Agricultura. (s.f.). Mejor nutrición. Recuperado de https://www.fao.org/americas/priorities/better-nutrition/es
Otto, L. P., Lecheler, S., & Schuk, A. R. T. (2019). Is context the key? The (non-) differential
effects of mediated incivility in three European countries. Political Communication,
(1), 88-107. https://doi.org/10.1080/10584609.2019.1663324 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10584609.2019.1663324
Pérez Liñán, A. S. (2008). El método comparativo: fundamentos y desarrollos recientes. Política Comparada.
PNUD. (2024). La democracia en América Latina: Hacia una democracia de ciudadanas y ciudadanos. Recuperado de https://www.latinamerica.undp.org/content/rblac/es/home/library/democratic_governance/democracy-in-latin-america.html
Przeworski, A. (2022a). Las crisis de la democracia. Siglo Veintiuno.
Igartua Perosanz, J.J. (2006) Métodos cuantitativos de investigación en Comunicación. Editorial Bosch.
Robertson, C. E., Prollochs, N., Schwarzenegger, K., Pärnamets, P., Van-Bavel, J. J., & Feuerriegel, S. (2023). Negativity drives online news consumption. Nature Human Behaviour, 7, 812-822. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-023-01538-4 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-023-01538-4
Sarasqueta, G. (2023). Cuando el ruido es señal. La ultraderecha como sujeto comunicacional. En S. [Apellido del editor] (Ed.), En la nave de la ciberdemocracia: mediatización, sesgos y polarización en la era digital (pp. 261-278). Congreso de la Nación Argentina.
Sarasqueta, G., & Ruiz-Rodríguez, L. (2024). TikTok como plataforma para la campaña política negativa: Análisis comparado de candidatos presidenciales en Brasil, Chile y Colombia. Revista Panamericana De Comunicación, 6(2). https://doi.org/10.21555/rpc.v6i2.3264 DOI: https://doi.org/10.21555/rpc.v6i2.3264
Soroka, S. N. (2014). Negativity in democratic politics: Causes and consequences. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781107477971 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781107477971
Soroka, S. N., Fournier, P., & Nir, P. L. (2019). Cross-national evidence of a negativity bias in psychophysiological reactions to news. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 116(38), 18888–18892. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1908369116 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1908369116
The Guardian. (2024, noviembre 13). Why The Guardian is no longer posting on X. The Guardian.https://www.theguardian.com/media/2024/nov/13/why-the-guardian-is-no-longer-posting-on-x
Tucker, J. A., Guess, A., Barberá, P., Vaccari, C., Siegel, A., Sanovich, S., Stukal, D., & Nyhan, B. (2018). Social media, political polarization, and political disinformation. Hewlett Foundation, March, 1–95. http://www.infoanimales.com/tortugas-terrestre DOI: https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3144139
Van Hiel, A. V., Mervielde, I., & De Fruyt, F. (2004). The relationship between maladaptive personality and right wing ideology. Personality and Individual Differences, 36(2), 405–417. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0191-8869(03)00105-3 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0191-8869(03)00105-3
Votta, F., Noroozian, A., Dobber, T., Helberger, N., & de Vreese, C. (2023). Going micro to go negative? Targeting toxicity using Facebook and Instagram ads. Computational Communication Research, 5(1), 1-50. https://doi.org/10.5117/CCR2023.1.001.VOTT DOI: https://doi.org/10.5117/CCR2023.1.001.VOTT
Waisbord, Silvio. (2020). ¿Es válido atribuir la polarización política a la comunicación digital? Sobre burbujas, plataformas y polarización afectiva. Revista SAAP, 14(2), 249–279. https://doi.org/10.46468/rsaap.14.2.A1 DOI: https://doi.org/10.46468/rsaap.14.2.A1
Yu, X., Wojcieszak, M., & Casas, A. (2024). Partisanship on social media: In-party love among American politicians, greater engagement with out-party hate among ordinary users. Political Behavior, 46(2), 799–824. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11109-022-09850-x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11109-022-09850-x
Yoon, K., Pinkleton, B. E., & Ko, W. (2005). Effects of negative political advertising on voting intention: An exploration of the roles of involvement and source credibility in the development of voter cynicism. Journal of Marketing Communications, 11(2), 95–112. https://doi.org/10.1080/1352726042000315423 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/1352726042000315423
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Revista de Comunicación
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Portal de Revistas de la Universidad de Piura.