@lenamariahuber.bsky.social
Research Fellow @mzesunimannheim
@ejprjournal.bsky.socialReposted by @lenamariahuber.bsky.socialStrategic alienation ♟️ 🛸
@lenamariahuber.bsky.social & Martin Haselmayer examine how political parties use social group appeals in negative campaigning, using a UK dataset, and asks when strategically targeted attacks are more likely to occur
@lenamariahuber.bsky.socialIn short: group-based attacks go where the rival is vulnerable. 🎯 It’s open access, so have a read!
@lenamariahuber.bsky.socialTurns out it’s not about the attacker’s own strength. Parties go after rivals seen as weak representatives of a group. And it’s even more likely when the attacker is seen as the better representative for that group.
@lenamariahuber.bsky.socialWe look at 200k+ Facebook and Twitter posts by UK parties (2016–2024) and match ~8,600 group-based attacks with BESIP data on which parties voters think look after which groups.
@lenamariahuber.bsky.socialParties don’t just claim to stand up for social groups. They also love telling voters which groups their rivals are failing: “You’ve abandoned the working class!” “You don’t care about pensioners!” But who gets hit with these attacks?
@lenamariahuber.bsky.socialNew research note out with Martin Haselmayer in @ejprjournal.bsky.social 🎉
When do parties invoke social groups to attack their rivals? 👇
doi.org/10.1017/S147...
