From the Philippine Election to Study Big Data and Online Public Opinion

Abstract:?Since entering the era of new media, political teams have increasingly utilized social media to conduct online political campaign. In the 2022 Philippine election, the Little Marcos team launched a comprehensive offensive using social media, using multiple means to create a friendly image of the Marcos family on Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube. His videos retold the achievements of his father, Old Marcos, during his reign, in order to construct a political narrative that is beneficial to his family, and thus winning the presidential election ultimately. We conducted a survey on social media such as Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok to analyze the social media campaign strategy of the Little Marcos team and explore the benefits and drawbacks of online political mobilization. Research has shown that the use of social media in electoral politics can shape the political image of political parties and candidates, expand the political space of small parties, conduct more direct political communication, and enhance the supervisory function of opposition parties and other personal advantages. However, there are also certain disadvantages in the use of social media, such as the possibility of blinding voters, deepening political disagreements, leaking personal privacy, increasing election costs, and threatening democratic systems etc.

Keywords:?Philippine election, Little Marcos, online public opinion

1. Introduction

????With the globalization of the Internet and its popularity among all people, the important impact social media had on the Philippine presidential election has attracted considerable attention. Social media has become an effective platform for communicating voter plans and campaign policies. The media environment is dynamic, developing in innovative and even unexpected ways that can have a significant impact on democratic governance and politics. Social media has fundamentally changed the way government agencies operate, the way candidates communicate and compete in the election, and the way how citizens take part in. Does this mean that the political era of social media has truly arrived? Does it indicate the reconstruction of political participation mode and the rise of digital democracy and the reconstruction of Particracy? This study analyses the social media campaign strategy of the Little Marcos team, explores the advantages and disadvantages of online political mobilization, and examines the impact of social media on election politics.

2. Data Collection & Methodology

????2.1 Data Collection

????????We used the Octopus crawler software to generate Little Marcos' social media accounts such as Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and collected the number of followers, videos posted, comments, likes, etc. of these accounts, as shown?in Figure 1 to Figure 3.?

????2.2 Methodology

????????We used Octopus crawler software to crawl relevant media data and construct an analytical framework to carry out empirical research related to the topic. The collected content was sorted out, completely irrelevant text information was deleted, and invalid messages, such as meaningless number strings or emoticons, advertisement implanted links, etc., were eliminated to analyze voter participation and to verify the effectiveness of the political mobilization of the Ponykos team.

3. Conclusion

????3.1 Taking Advantage of Social Media Campaigning

????????3.1.1?Utilizing social media is efficient for setting up wanting personal characters in front of the public.

????????????Positioning as public figures who participate in the election contest, it is absolutely essential for them to mind their language and behavior in public. Common forms of spreading information on social media include words, pictures, and videos etc. These are all not needy of on-site reactions, which means the content ready to post on social media can be carefully edited, for the sake of shaping the desired persona better. Social media brings this unique advantage to canvassing for votes in the election contest since it can minimize the risk of meeting any negative public opinion due to saying anything inappropriate or showing any unlikable behaviors in front of the public. Other forms of publicizing for any political campaign, for instance, ?accepting an interview or delivering a speech, can both meet this kind of risk, whilst utilizing social media wisely will prevent that from ever happening.

????????3.1.2 Widen Minor Party's Participation

????????????This feature of social media has largely reinvigorated citizens' enthusiasm for participation in political life. Influenced and restricted by various interests, traditional media groups focus more on big and old parties in the West, while many small and new parties cannot occupy a place in the reports in traditional media. The free and open Internet provides a space for discourse for small parties on the fringes of the political circle. Some marginal and small parties can use social media to avoid the deliberate filtering of traditional mainstream media and the political censorship of large parties, interact and communicate with voters extensively and directly, gain political support, and carry out effective political mobilization.

????????3.1.3 Start Direct Political Communication

????????????As Philippines start political campaign, each party all use social medias like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to spread their opinions. Especially, Marcos utilize internet to establish supporting system which is used to share information. His voters can set personal accounts and communicate with each other. It plays an essential role in establishing Marcos’s optimistic image.

????????3.1.4 Promotion of Social Medias

????????????Firstly, the appearance of internet change how elite level controls media in political processes. Its span has been widened as more lower level publicans enter internet. Secondly, contrast to traditional media, social media gain more focuses with lower costs. It provides publicans with more convenient processes and at the same time develop voters’ mindset.

????????3.1.5 Intensify Opposition Party's Rights of Inspection

????????????As a new source of transferring information and social platform, social medias provide more opportunities for opposition party to supervise the government. It increases politics transparency and public participation, which can push developments of democracies.

????3.2 Disadvantages of Internet Voting

????????3.2.1. Blindly Voting

????????????Election team prepare and plan suitable personal images for candidates. Then they can use internet to pack themselves which can be identified as misleading voters by incomplete cognition and blind worship.

????????3.2.2 Deepen Political Disagreements

????????????Big data algorithms on social medias may recommend points that voters already agree in the first place, therefore deepening political disagreements even further.

????????3.2.3 Risk?of Misleading Voters

????????????Fake news and wrong information is easier to spread than real ones on social medias. If voters are unable to distinguish fake news, they can be misled and finally affect election results.

????????3.2.4 Privacy

????????????Candidates and their political organizations may collect voter’s personal information on social medias.

????????3.2.5 Increasing Cost

????????????Advertisements on internet and marketing activities brings pressure on capital chain, it may brings the result of more dependence on consortium.

????????3.2.6 Threat?towards Democracy

????????????If there is no limitations on internet, it can threaten the stability and impartiality of democracies.