Theory and practice of agenda setting: understanding media, bot, and public agendas in the South Korean presidential election

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

Social media not only changes the traditional communication environment, but also introduces new modifications to agenda setting. With the increasing use of social bots in public opinion manipulation and political election interference, whether they can participate in or influence agenda setting has become an urgent concern. Currently, there is limited literature focusing on engagement in agenda-setting for social bots agenda setting. This paper examines the content of social media discussion related to the South Korean presidential election, identifies the presence of social bots, and explores the relationships between media agenda, bot agenda, and public agenda from the perspective of agenda setting. The study found that although the primary agendas of the media, social bots, and the public are not identical, they are interconnected. Furthermore, the media agenda does not precede the bot agenda and the public agenda in terms of timeliness, and chronological order is only observed between social bots and the public.

Original languageEnglish
JournalAsian Journal of Communication
Volume34
Issue number1
Pages (from-to)24-56
Number of pages33
ISSN0129-2986
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© AMIC/WKWSCI-NTU 2023.

    Research areas

  • Agenda setting, general election, political communication, social bots, social media, Twitter

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