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Published in:
The Challenge of Networked Democracy Read chapter Read first chapter

2020 | OriginalPaper | Chapter

17. The Fifth Estate Joins the Debate: The Political Roles of Live Commentary in the First Televised Presidential Debate Between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump

Authors : Craig T. Robertson, William H. Dutton

Published in: Platforms, Protests, and the Challenge of Networked Democracy

Publisher: Springer International Publishing

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Abstract

During political debate broadcasts, social media platforms allow members of the public to come together to express, in real time, their opinions of candidates and issues. Focusing on the first televised presidential debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton in 2016, this study explores the ways in which members of the public joked about, derided, and fact-checked candidates on Twitter as the debate happened. We find that the debate audience used the platform mostly to share humorous quips and attack candidates. However, users also shared fact-checks and expressed their dissatisfaction with debate participants, seeking to hold debaters accountable. They challenged not only Trump and Clinton, but also the debate moderator. By challenging facts and making substantive critiques, Twitter users acted as a Fifth Estate.

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previous chapter Digital Dissent and Censorship in the Kashmir Conflict
next chapter Sovereignty and Algorithms: Indigenous Land Disputes in Digital Democracy
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Metadata
Title
The Fifth Estate Joins the Debate: The Political Roles of Live Commentary in the First Televised Presidential Debate Between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump
Authors
Craig T. Robertson
William H. Dutton
Copyright Year
2020
Publisher
Springer International Publishing
Book
Platforms, Protests, and the Challenge of Networked Democracy

Print ISBN: 978-3-030-36524-0

Electronic ISBN: 978-3-030-36525-7

Copyright Year: 2020

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-36525-7_17