Communications patterns and power dynamics in the digital public sphere: a case study of the conversation about Minimum Living Income on Twitter

Abstract

In 2020, in the midst of the first wave of the pandemic, the Spanish Government approved the implementation of the Minimum Living Income, a non-contributory benefit under the Spanish social security system that guarantees a minimum income for those in need of one. Drawing on previous work of Stefania Vicari et al. (2018) about the use of political hashtag publics and counter-visuality on the Italian Twittersphere, we analysed patterns of communication among users on Twitter. Thus, this paper contributes to existing research on the deliberative process within the digital sphere, with a particular focus on power structures and communication patterns. Findings show that digital-born media, politicians and political parties play a central role in the discussion through mention and quoted tweets practices, but not in the production of new messages, while ordinary users are more likely to be retweeted. This would suggest a tendency towards retransmitting and disseminating content produced by ordinary users more than official sources.