A populist paradise? Examining populists’ Twitter adoption and use

Abstract

While populists are claimed to be masters of Twitter, we know surprisingly little about how they use the medium (if at all). This study examines (1) populists’ Twitter adoption and (2) also investigates whether they differ from other political actors in their posting, connecting, and engagement behaviour on Twitter. We use a series of regression analyses to examine populists’ Twitter adoption and use in the Netherlands (2010–2016). We find that populists are less likely to adopt Twitter and suggest this is due to the party structure of populist parties: they are typically highly centralized and are wary of internal dissent. However, when populists do have an account, they do not post less (or more) tweets. They are less likely to have reciprocal interactions though and are more selective in who they befriend. However, these friends are more likely to get retweeted, suggesting that populists actively contribute to creating echo chambers.