Social Media and Ge15: A Network Approach in Analysing Participatory Propaganda on Twitter

Abstract

The 15th General Election (GE15) in November 2022 resulted in Malaysia’s first hung parliament, where no political party or coalition secured a majority. Confusion and uncertainties rocked the nation for days before BN, PH, GPS, GRS, and others finally came together to form a post-election coalition government, with Anwar Ibrahim as Prime Minister. Meanwhile, on the social media front, a fierce battle unfolded, particularly on Twitter, as various groups sought to influence public opinion. So, in attempting to explore this further, this research adopted a participatory propaganda framework to analyse the Twitter networks and narratives during the GE15 campaign. Methodologically, this was done by using social network analysis (SNA) via NodeXL, by collecting data from Twitter containing relevant keywords and popular hashtags like #ge15. The findings revealed distinct political clusters within the network, where influential figures and ordinary users actively shaped narratives, engaging in awareness campaign, as well as political attacks. The study also validated widely held views about the political leanings of Twitter users, while also highlighting a strong mood for change and increased political participation. To a significant extent too, the online narrative reflected broader national sentiments, suggesting that these Twitter networks played a significant role in participating and influencing political sentiment during GE15.