An Analysis of Bolsonaro and Trump’s Social Media: Agenda Setting in Presidential Campaigns in Brazil and the United States

Abstract

This chapter demonstrates a parallel between the presidential campaigns of Jair Bolsonaro (Brazil, 2018) and Donald Trump (United States, 2016) regarding their use of social media. Specifically, tweets from the former candidates on the social network sites were analyzed during a one-month timeframe before their respective presidential elections. Tweets were selected for analysis based on the fact that Twitter was the main platform used by both former presidential candidates. The analysis of the data reveals considerable similarities between the communication strategies of the two candidates. This research enlists McCombs and Shaw (1972) agenda setting theory based on their study of media during North American presidential campaigns in 1968 and Lippmann’s (2008) concept of public opinion. The methodology employed is based on Bardin (2011).

Citation

Gomes, É.B.R. and Reis, T.M. (2024), "An Analysis of Bolsonaro and Trump’s Social Media: Agenda Setting in Presidential Campaigns in Brazil and the United States", Robinson, L., Moles, K., Moreira, S.V. and Schulz, J. (Ed.) Geo Spaces of Communication Research (Studies in Media and Communications, Vol. 26), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 31-43. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2050-206020240000026006