Authors
-
Tal Samuel-Azran
Sammy Ofer School of Communications, Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzliya, Israel
-
Moran Yarchi
Moran Yarchi (Ph.D., Hebrew University) is a Senior Lecturer at the Sammy Ofer School of Communications, Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzliya, Israel. Her main fields of research are political communication, public diplomacy, media coverage of conflicts and terrorism, and new media.
-
Gadi Wolfsfeld
Gadi Wolfsfeld (PhD, MIT) is a Full Professor in the Sammy Ofer School of Communication, Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzliya, Israel. His major research interests are in the field of political communication with a special focus on the role of the media in political conflicts. His most recent book is titled Making Sense of Media and Politics: Five Principles in Political Communication.
Abstract
To contribute to the mapping of negative campaigns effects, this study examines the engagement (shares and comments) and likeability (likes) effects of negative campaigning strategies on Facebook during Israel's 2013 elections. The analysis shows that attacks, contrasts, and responses to negative messages are highly shared and commented on, illustrating the engaging nature of negative campaigning in Israel. In terms of likeability, results were mixed, as responses to negative messages were more liked than other messages, but attacks and contrasts were not. The 20 most-liked posts were analyzed and responses of the leader of the religious party Habayit HaYehudi to alleged attacks against modern orthodoxy attracted likes in dramatic numbers, riling followers who objected to the growing tensions between religious and secular Jews in Israel. The study provides the first mapping of the effects of an online negative campaign in Israel and illuminates the relevance of its political and religious context, particularly Israel’s polarized multi-party system and religious, democratic nature.
Author Biography
Tal Samuel-Azran, Sammy Ofer School of Communications, Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzliya, Israel
Tal Samuel-Azran (PhD, University of Melbourne ; MA, New York University) is the Head of the international program at the Sammy Ofer School of Communications.His main fields of research are political communication, new media
and media globalization. His most recent book is titled Intercultural Communication as a Clash of Civilizations: Al-Jazeera and Qatar’s Soft Power (Peter Lang, 2016).
