28 Oct 2020

Study finds how politicians used social media during election

From Morning Report, 8:40 am on 28 October 2020

Jacinda Ardern may be known for keeping the nation up-to-date with Facebook Lives from her lounge but she was not the most active politician on social media during the election campaign.

That title can be claimed by John Tamihere of the Maori Party, who research found posted on Facebook 188 times compared with Ms Ardern's 88 posts.

Research by Victoria University of Wellington analysed campaign topics, the dominant political actors, and their campaigning strategies on social media during the final four weeks of the campaign.

The study was co-led by Dr Mona Krewel. She speaks to Corin Dann.