Understanding President Trump supporters’ behaviors about a political controversy

Krishna, A; Kim, S

Understanding President Trump supporters’ behaviors about a political controversy

Krishna, A Kim, S

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Publisher:: Emerald
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Journal of Communication Management, 2020, 24, (2), pp. 119-136
Issue Date:: 2020-05-07

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Krishna, A
dc.contributor.author	Kim, S https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8968-0249
dc.date.accessioned	2020-09-28T21:42:58Z
dc.date.available	2020-09-28T21:42:58Z
dc.date.issued	2020-05-07
dc.identifier.citation	Journal of Communication Management, 2020, 24, (2), pp. 119-136
dc.identifier.issn	1363-254X
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/142905
dc.description.abstract	© 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited. Purpose: This study seeks to understand Trump supporters’ behaviors on social media in the wake of a political controversy: US President Trump’s continued support for Judge Roy Moore’s candidacy for the US Senate representing the state of Alabama despite several allegations of sexual assault against him. Design/methodology/approach: Few days before the special election was held in Alabama, an online survey was conducted among 325 supporters of President Trump to explore Trump supporters’ social media behaviors, including the unfriending/unfollowing contacts and speaking out about the controversy. Findings: We found a negative presidential image to influence individuals’ loss of face, and such loss of face to impact unfriending/unfollowing behaviors on social media, as well as outspokenness. Furthermore, the differences between strong issue supporters and weak issue supporters’ opinions of climate perceptions and outspokenness were investigated. Originality/value: Rather than using fear of isolation as the mediator between opinion climate and willingness to speak out, as is generally the case in the spiral of silence model (Moy et al., 2001), this study investigated the role of another affective indicator, loss of face on two social media behaviors, outspokenness, and unfollowing/unfriending contacts on social media.
dc.language	en
dc.publisher	Emerald
dc.relation.ispartof	Journal of Communication Management
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1108/JCOM-02-2020-0008
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.rights	This article is (c) Emerald Group Publishing and permission has been granted for this version to appear here - https://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JCOM-02-2020-0008. Emerald does not grant permission for this article to be further copied/distributed or hosted elsewhere without the express permission from Emerald Group Publishing Limited.	en_US
dc.subject	15 Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services, 20 Language, Communication and Culture
dc.title	Understanding President Trump supporters’ behaviors about a political controversy
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	24
utslib.for	15 Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services
utslib.for	20 Language, Communication and Culture
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences/Public Communication Program
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*
dc.date.updated	2020-09-28T21:42:52Z
pubs.issue	2
pubs.publication-status	Published
pubs.volume	24
utslib.citation.issue	2

Abstract:

© 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited. Purpose: This study seeks to understand Trump supporters’ behaviors on social media in the wake of a political controversy: US President Trump’s continued support for Judge Roy Moore’s candidacy for the US Senate representing the state of Alabama despite several allegations of sexual assault against him. Design/methodology/approach: Few days before the special election was held in Alabama, an online survey was conducted among 325 supporters of President Trump to explore Trump supporters’ social media behaviors, including the unfriending/unfollowing contacts and speaking out about the controversy. Findings: We found a negative presidential image to influence individuals’ loss of face, and such loss of face to impact unfriending/unfollowing behaviors on social media, as well as outspokenness. Furthermore, the differences between strong issue supporters and weak issue supporters’ opinions of climate perceptions and outspokenness were investigated. Originality/value: Rather than using fear of isolation as the mediator between opinion climate and willingness to speak out, as is generally the case in the spiral of silence model (Moy et al., 2001), this study investigated the role of another affective indicator, loss of face on two social media behaviors, outspokenness, and unfollowing/unfriending contacts on social media.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/142905