Political corruption, leadership and influence on Twitter. An analysis of public transparency in the context of the 28th April elections in Spain

Abstract

According to the barometers of the Spanish Centre for Sociological Research (Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas, 2019), corruption features as one of the citizens' main concerns; however, corruption is not a priority in the discourse of political leaders on social networks, although it acts as a mechanism to increase confrontation between adversaries, especially during election periods. This study seeks to analyse the political coverage of corruption on Twitter, identify the candidates' strategies, and confirm public opinion on the need to increase transparency policies that mitigate the effects of corruption and improve the access to information. The methodology combines a quantitative-qualitative content analysis with a comparative approach, focused on the personal accounts of candidates for the 28th April elections in Spain. In addition, a survey of the assessment of the transparency portals and a panel of experts aimed at professionals and academics linked to the political communication sector were also considered. The results confirm an electoral political use of corruption that does not respond to citizens' interest. In conclusion, there is an urgent need to review the public proposal for transparency portals so as to render them more useful to users.