Network Issue Agenda Setting on Facebook: Exploring the Interplay Between Polarized Campaigns and Party Supporters

Abstract

This study undertook an analysis of network agenda setting during the 2020 U.S. Presidential campaign, focusing on the interactions between the campaigns and their respective supporters within the context of a polarized social media environment. By employing social network analysis techniques to examine issue agendas, the study revealed a relatively weak correlation between the agendas of the campaigns and their affiliated supporters on Facebook. Conversely, it found a notable association between entities sharing the same ideological orientation—party supporters displayed a higher degree of engagement with their own party’s campaign, and vice versa. The implications of these findings, from a theoretical, methodological, and practical standpoint, have been thoroughly discussed.