Startseite From the Syrian to Ukrainian refugee crisis: Tracing the changes in the Italian Twitter discussions through network analysis
Artikel
Lizenziert
Nicht lizenziert Erfordert eine Authentifizierung

From the Syrian to Ukrainian refugee crisis: Tracing the changes in the Italian Twitter discussions through network analysis

  • Sercan Kiyak ORCID logo EMAIL logo , David De Coninck ORCID logo , Stefan Mertens und Leen d’Haenens ORCID logo
Veröffentlicht/Copyright: 13. August 2024
Communications
Aus der Zeitschrift Communications

Abstract

This study examines the Italian Twitter landscape during the 2015 Syrian and 2022 Ukrainian refugee crises, with a focus on the evolution of anti-refugee discourse. Through the analysis of 400,000 tweets, we sought to identify attitudinal communities, track changes in user positions, and evaluate the trending potential of the communities. Our findings indicate a shift in opinion leaders within the anti-refugee community from 2015, alongside a persistent ability to influence public discourse. Additionally, while the pro-Ukrainian refugee community has grown, incorporating previously neutral users, it remains loosely connected. Finally, the shifts in attitudes of Italian populist leaders regarding Syrian and Ukrainian refugees are interpreted in light of the changes in user attitudes as observed in the communication networks. This research highlights the importance of computational communication methods for investigating fringe groups absent from mainstream discourse, and underscores the necessity of content moderation and proactive digital activism to counter anti-refugee sentiment online.

Acknowledgements

This work is supported by the OPPORTUNITIES project, funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research & Innovation program under Grant Agreement No. 101004945, and by the HumMingBird project, under the same program under Grant Agreement No. 870661. David De Coninck is supported by funding from the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO) with grant number 1219824N (DeMiSo).

References

Adinolfi, S., & Caracciolo, M. (2023). Narrative, scale, and two refugee crises in comparison in the Italian media. DIEGESIS (WUPPERTAL), 12(2), 18–33. https://doi.org/10.25926/wrn0-8n40Suche in Google Scholar

Åkerlund, M. (2022). Far right, right here: Interconnections of discourse, platforms, and users in the digital mainstream [PhD dissertation]. Umeå University. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-191942Suche in Google Scholar

Alonso-Muñoz, L., & Casero-Ripollés, A. (2020). Populism against Europe in social media: The Eurosceptic discourse on Twitter in Spain, Italy, France, and United Kingdom during the campaign of the 2019 European Parliament election. Frontiers in Communication, 5, 54. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2020.0005410.3389/fcomm.2020.00054Suche in Google Scholar

Amati, G., Angelini, S., Capri, F., Gambosi, G., Rossi, G., & Vocca, P. (2016). Twitter temporal evolution analysis: Comparing event and topic driven retweet graphs. https://www.iadisportal.org/digital-library/twitter-temporal-evolution-analysis-comparing-event-and-topic-driven-retweet-graphsSuche in Google Scholar

Avraamidou, M., & Eftychiou, E. (2022). Migrant racialization on Twitter during a border and a pandemic crisis. International Communication Gazette, 84(3), 227–251. https://doi.org/10.1177/1748048521105430110.1177/17480485211054301Suche in Google Scholar

Bahtic-Kunrath, B., & Gebauer, C. (2023). From narratives of crisis to narratives of solidarity. University of Wuppertal.Suche in Google Scholar

Bail, C. (2014). Terrified: How Anti-Muslim fringe organizations became mainstream. Princeton University Press. https://doi.org/10.1515/978140085262810.23943/princeton/9780691159423.001.0001Suche in Google Scholar

Bastian, M., Heymann, S., & Jacomy, M. (2009). Gephi: An open source software for exploring and manipulating networks. Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence.10.1609/icwsm.v3i1.13937Suche in Google Scholar

Bennett, W. L., & Pfetsch, B. (2018). Rethinking political communication in a time of disrupted public spheres. Journal of Communication, 68(2), 243–253. https://doi.org/10.1093/joc/jqx01710.1093/joc/jqx017Suche in Google Scholar

Berti, C., & Loner, E. (2023). Character assassination as a right-wing populist communication tactic on social media: The case of Matteo Salvini in Italy. New Media & Society, 25(11), 2939–2960. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444821103922210.1177/14614448211039222Suche in Google Scholar

Blondel, V. D., Guillaume, J.-L., Lambiotte, R., & Lefebvre, E. (2008). Fast unfolding of communities in large networks. Journal of Statistical Mechanics: Theory and Experiment, 2008(10). http://arxiv.org/abs/0803.047610.1088/1742-5468/2008/10/P10008Suche in Google Scholar

Blumenthal, S. (1980). The permanent campaign: Inside the world of elite political operatives (1st ed.). Beacon Press.Suche in Google Scholar

Bodrunova, S. S., Litvinenko, A. A., & Blekanov, I. S. (2017). Comparing influencers: Activity vs. connectivity measures in defining key actors in Twitter ad hoc discussions on migrants in Germany and Russia. In G. L. Ciampaglia, A. Mashhadi, & T. Yasseri (Eds.), Social informatics (pp. 360–376). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-67217-5_2210.1007/978-3-319-67217-5_22Suche in Google Scholar

Bonilla, Y., & Rosa, J. (2015). #Ferguson: Digital protest, hashtag ethnography, and the racial politics of social media in the United States. American Ethnologist, 42(1), 4–17. https://doi.org/10.1111/amet.1211210.1111/amet.12112Suche in Google Scholar

Bordignon, F., Diamanti, I., & Turato, F. (2022). Rally ’round the Ukrainian flag. The Russian attack and the (temporary?) suspension of geopolitical polarization in Italy. Contemporary Italian Politics, 14(3), 370–386. https://doi.org/10.1080/23248823.2022.206017110.1080/23248823.2022.2060171Suche in Google Scholar

Bruns, A. (2019). After the ‘APIcalypse’: Social media platforms and their fight against critical scholarly research. Information, Communication & Society, 22(11), 1544–1566. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2019.163744710.1080/1369118X.2019.1637447Suche in Google Scholar

Bulli, G., & Soare, S. C. (2018). Immigration and the refugee crisis in a new immigration country: The case of Italy. Croatian and Comparative Public Administration, 18(1), 127–156.Suche in Google Scholar

Ceccorulli, M. (2023). From Ukraine to the Mediterranean: Italy and the governance of migration. Contemporary Italian Politics, 15(2), 269–282. https://doi.org/10.1080/23248823.2023.219768910.1080/23248823.2023.2197689Suche in Google Scholar

Choi, J.-A., Benton, B., Yi Luo, & Green, K. (2022, October 31). Study finds hate speech increases on Twitter after Elon Musk acquisition. Montclair State University School of Communications and Media. https://www.montclair.edu/school-of-communication-and-media/study-finds-hate-speech-increases-on-twitter-after-elon-musk-acquisition/Suche in Google Scholar

Conover, M. D., Gonçalves, B., Flammini, A., & Menczer, F. (2012). Partisan asymmetries in online political activity. EPJ Data Science, 1(1), 6. https://doi.org/10.1140/epjds610.1140/epjds6Suche in Google Scholar

d’Haenens, L., Joris, W., & Heinderyckx, F. (2019). Images of immigrants and refugees in Western Europe: Media representations, public opinion and refugees’ experiences. Leuven University Press.10.11116/9789461662811Suche in Google Scholar

Davidson, T. (2024). Audience engagement and the dynamics of online activism: Far-right mobilization on Facebook. Mobilization: An International Quarterly, 28(4), 445–470. https://doi.org/10.17813/1086-671X-22-4-44510.17813/1086-671X-22-4-445Suche in Google Scholar

De Coninck, D. (2023). The refugee paradox during wartime in Europe: How Ukrainian and Afghan refugees are (not) alike. International Migration Review, 57(2), 578–586. https://doi.org/10.1177/0197918322111687410.1177/01979183221116874Suche in Google Scholar

Dehghan, E. (2020). Networked discursive alliances: Antagonism, agonism, and the dynamics of discursive struggles in the Australian Twittersphere [PhD dissertation]. Queensland University of Technology. https://doi.org/10.5204/thesis.eprints.17460410.5204/thesis.eprints.174604Suche in Google Scholar

Ekman, M. (2019). Anti-immigration and racist discourse in social media. European Journal of Communication, 34(6), 606–618. https://doi.org/10.1177/026732311988615110.1177/0267323119886151Suche in Google Scholar

Elmer, G., Langlois, G., & McKelvey, F. (2012). The permanent campaign: New media, new politics (New edition). Peter Lang Inc.Suche in Google Scholar

Esau, K., Choucair, T., Vilkins, S., Svegaard, S., Bruns, A., & Lubicz, C. (2023, May, 25–29). Destructive political polarization in the context of digital communication – A critical literature review and conceptual framework [Conference presentation]. 73rd Annual ICA Conference, Toronto, Canada. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/238775/Suche in Google Scholar

Esposito, A. (2022). The limitations of humanity: Differential refugee treatment in the EU. Harvard International Review. https://hir.harvard.edu/the-limitations-of-humanity-differential-refugee-treatment-in-the-eu/Suche in Google Scholar

European Parliament. (2023). The concept of “climate refugee” Towards a possible definition. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2021/698753/EPRS_BRI(2021)698753_EN.pdfSuche in Google Scholar

Falkenberg, M., Galeazzi, A., Torricelli, M., Di Marco, N., Larosa, F., Sas, M., Mekacher, A., Pearce, W., Zollo, F., Quattrociocchi, W., & Baronchelli, A. (2022). Growing polarisation around climate change on social media (arXiv:2112.12137). arXiv. http://arxiv.org/abs/2112.1213710.1038/s41558-022-01527-xSuche in Google Scholar

Freelon, D. (2020). Partition-specific network analysis of digital trace data: Research questions and tools. In B. Foucault Welles, & S. González-Bailón (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Networked Communication (pp. 89–110). Oxford University Press.10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190460518.013.3Suche in Google Scholar

Freelon, D., McIlwain, C. D., & Clark, M. D. (2016). Beyond the hashtags: #Ferguson, #Blacklivesmatter, and the online struggle for offline justice. Center for Media & Social Impact. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=274706610.2139/ssrn.2747066Suche in Google Scholar

Gerbaudo, P. (2016a). Constructing public space| rousing the Facebook crowd: Digital enthusiasm and emotional contagion in the 2011 protests in Egypt and Spain. International Journal of Communication, 10, 254–273. http://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/3963Suche in Google Scholar

Gerbaudo, P. (2016b). From data analytics to data hermeneutics. Online Political discussions, digital methods and the continuing relevance of interpretive approaches. Digital Culture & Society, 2(2), 95–112. https://doi.org/10.14361/dcs-2016-020710.14361/dcs-2016-0207Suche in Google Scholar

González-Bailón, S., D’Andrea, V., Freelon, D., & De Domenico, M. (2022). The advantage of the right in social media news sharing. PNAS Nexus, 1. https://doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgac13710.1093/pnasnexus/pgac137Suche in Google Scholar

Gruzd, A., & Mai, P. (2020). Going viral: How a single tweet spawned a COVID-19 conspiracy theory on Twitter. Big Data & Society, 7(2), 2053951720938405. https://doi.org/10.1177/205395172093840510.1177/2053951720938405Suche in Google Scholar

Hairol Anuar, S. H., Abas, Z. A., Yunos, N. M., Mohd Zaki, N. H., Hashim, N. A., Mokhtar, M. F., Asmai, S. A., Abidin, Z. Z., & Nizam, A. F. (2021). Comparison between Louvain and Leiden algorithm for network structure: A review. Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 2129(1), 012028. https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/2129/1/01202810.1088/1742-6596/2129/1/012028Suche in Google Scholar

Howard, R. G. (2022). Manufacturing populism: Digitally amplified vernacular authority. Media and Communication, 10(4), 236–247. https://doi.org/10.17645/mac.v10i4.585710.17645/mac.v10i4.5857Suche in Google Scholar

Jacomy, M., Venturini, T., Heymann, S., & Bastian, M. (2014). ForceAtlas2, a continuous graph layout algorithm for handy network visualization designed for the Gephi software. PLoS ONE, 9(6), e98679. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.009867910.1371/journal.pone.0098679Suche in Google Scholar

Jungherr, A., Schoen, H., Posegga, O., & Jürgens, P. (2017). Digital trace data in the study of public opinion: An indicator of attention toward politics rather than political support. Social Science Computer Review, 35(3), 336–356. https://doi.org/10.1177/089443931663104310.1177/0894439316631043Suche in Google Scholar

Kiyak, S., Coninck, D. D., Mertens, S., & d’Haenens, L. (2023). Exploring the German-Language Twittersphere: Network analysis of discussions on the Syrian and Ukrainian refugee crises. In B. Berendt, M. Krzywdzinski, & E. Kuznetsova (Eds.), Proceedings of the Weizenbaum Conference 2023: AI, Big Data, Social Media, and People on the Move (pp. 46–58). Weizenbaum Institute for the Networked Society – The German Internet Institute. https://doi.org/10.34669/wi.cp/5.5Suche in Google Scholar

Krzyżanowski, M. (2020). Discursive shifts and the normalization of racism: Imaginaries of immigration, moral panics and the discourse of contemporary right-wing populism. Social Semiotics, 30(4), 503–527. https://doi.org/10.1080/10350330.2020.176619910.1080/10350330.2020.1766199Suche in Google Scholar

Laitin, D. D. (2022, 24 March). Ukrainian refugees face a more accommodating Europe, says Stanford scholar. Stanford News. https://news.stanford.edu/2022/03/24/ukrainian-refugees-face-accommodating-europe-says-stanford-scholar/Suche in Google Scholar

Lami, G., & Sahota, S. K. (2022). The Russian invasion of Ukraine: Some readings from Italian newspapers (20 February–5 March 2022). Modern Italy, 27(3), 199–206. https://doi.org/10.1017/mit.2022.2110.1017/mit.2022.21Suche in Google Scholar

Lee, J.-S., & Nerghes, A. (2018). Refugee or migrant crisis? Labels, perceived agency, and sentiment polarity in online discussions. Social Media + Society, 4(3), 2056305118785638. https://doi.org/10.1177/205630511878563810.1177/2056305118785638Suche in Google Scholar

Loner, E. (2023). Enemies and friends. The instrumental social construction of populist identity through twitter in Italy at the time of COVID-19. European Journal of Cultural and Political Sociology, 10(2), 279–308. https://doi.org/10.1080/23254823.2022.212542110.1080/23254823.2022.2125421Suche in Google Scholar

Lucchesi, D., & Romania, V. (2024). ‘Italians locked at home, illegal migrants free to disembark’: How populist parties re-contextualized the anti-immigration discourse at the time of COVID-19 pandemic. Discourse & Society, 35(1), 83–115. https://doi.org/10.1177/0957926523119050410.1177/09579265231190504Suche in Google Scholar

Majmundar, A., Allem, J.-P., Cruz, T. B., & Unger, J. B. (2018). The Why We Retweet scale. PLOS ONE, 13(10), e0206076. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.020607610.1371/journal.pone.0206076Suche in Google Scholar

Mattei, M., Pratelli, M., Caldarelli, G., Petrocchi, M., & Saracco, F. (2022). Bow-tie structures of Twitter discursive communities. Scientific Reports, 12(1), Article 1. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-16603-710.1038/s41598-022-16603-7Suche in Google Scholar

MacNamee, D. (2023, 17 December). Exclusive: The X Files – How Elon Musk’s new rules allow hate to flourish. Business Post. https://www.businesspost.ie/news/exclusive-the-x-files-how-elon-musks-new-rules-allow-hate-to-flourish/Suche in Google Scholar

Meraz, S., & Papacharissi, Z. (2013). Networked gatekeeping and networked framing on #Egypt. The International Journal of Press/Politics, 18(2), 138–166. https://doi.org/10.1177/194016121247447210.1177/1940161212474472Suche in Google Scholar

Münch, F. V. (2019). Measuring the networked public: Exploring network science methods for large scale online media studies [Doctoral dissertation]. Queensland University of Technology.Suche in Google Scholar

Nerghes, A., & Lee, J.-S. (2019). Narratives of the refugee crisis: A comparative study of mainstream-media and twitter. Media and Communication, 7(2), 275–288. https://doi.org/10.17645/mac.v7i2.198310.17645/mac.v7i2.1983Suche in Google Scholar

Nicasio-Varea, B., Pérez-Gabaldón, M., & Chavez, M. (2020). Using social media to motivate anti-migration sentiments. Political implications in the United States and beyond. Tripodos, 49, 51–69. https://doi.org/10.51698/tripodos.2020.49p51-6910.51698/tripodos.2020.49p51-69Suche in Google Scholar

Papacharissi, Z. (2015). Affective publics: Sentiment, technology, and politics. Oxford University Press.10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199999736.001.0001Suche in Google Scholar

Petropoulos, T. S. (2021). Breaking point: How migrant crises have influenced the rise of far-right parties in Italy, Germany, and the UK. Fordham University Fordham University.Suche in Google Scholar

Punziano, G., De Falco, C. C., & Trezza, D. (2023). Digital mixed content analysis for the study of digital platform social data: An illustration from the analysis of COVID-19 risk perception in the Italian Twittersphere. Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 17(2), 143–170. https://doi.org/10.1177/1558689821106764710.1177/15586898211067647Suche in Google Scholar

Recuero, R., Zago, G., & Soares, F. (2019). Using social network analysis and social capital to identify user roles on polarized political conversations on Twitter. Social Media + Society, 5(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/205630511984874510.1177/2056305119848745Suche in Google Scholar

Risam, R. (2015). Beyond the margins: Intersectionality and the digital humanities. Digital Humanities Quarterly, 9(2). https://digitalrepository.salemstate.edu/handle/20.500.13013/418Suche in Google Scholar

Roberts, H. (2022, 11 March). Italy’s Matteo Salvini recasts himself as champion of Ukraine’s refugees. POLITICO. https://www.politico.eu/article/italys-matteo-salvini-recasts-himself-as-champion-of-ukraines-refugees/Suche in Google Scholar

Russo, V., & del Gobbo, E. (2023). Inside trending topic algorithm: How do human interactions drive public opinion in an artificial environment. Social Science Computer Review, 41(1), 234–248. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894439321104150110.1177/08944393211041501Suche in Google Scholar

Sales, M. I. (2023). The refugee crisis’ double standards: Media framing and the proliferation of positive and negative narratives during the Ukrainian and Syrian crises. EuroMeSCo. https://www.euromesco.net/publication/the-refugee-crisis-double-standards-media-framing-and-the-proliferation-of-positive-and-negative-narratives-during-the-ukrainian-and-syrian-crisis/Suche in Google Scholar

Serrano, J. C. M., Shahrezaye, M., Papakyriakopoulos, O., & Hegelich, S. (2019). The rise of Germany’s AfD: A social media analysis. Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Social Media and Society, 214–223. https://doi.org/10.1145/3328529.332856210.1145/3328529.3328562Suche in Google Scholar

Smith, M. a, Rainie, L., Shneiderman, B., & Himelboim, I. (2014, 20 February). Mapping Twitter topic networks: From polarized crowds to community clusters. Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2014/02/20/mapping-twitter-topic-networks-from-polarized-crowds-to-community-clusters/Suche in Google Scholar

Sommer, R. (2022). Narrative dynamics and migration: Centrifugal vs. centripetal forces. University of Wuppertal.Suche in Google Scholar

Suomela, T., Chee, F., Berendt, B., & Rockwell, G. (2019). Applying an Ethics of Care to Internet Research: Gamergate and Digital Humanities. Digital Studies/Le Champ Numérique, 9(1), Article 1. https://doi.org/10.16995/dscn.30210.16995/dscn.302Suche in Google Scholar

Traag, V. A., Waltman, L., & van Eck, N. J. (2019). From Louvain to Leiden: Guaranteeing well-connected communities. Scientific Reports, 9(1), 5233. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-41695-z10.1038/s41598-019-41695-zSuche in Google Scholar

Tumasjan, A., Sprenger, T. O., Sandner, P. G., & Welpe, I. M. (2011). Election forecasts with Twitter: How 140 characters reflect the political landscape. Social Science Computer Review, 29(4), 402–418. https://doi.org/10.1177/089443931038655710.1177/0894439310386557Suche in Google Scholar

Tuters, M., & Willaert, T. (2022). Deep state phobia: Narrative convergence in coronavirus conspiracism on Instagram. Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies, 28(4), 1214–1238. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354856522111875110.1177/13548565221118751Suche in Google Scholar

Twitter. (2023). Twitter’s recommendation algorithm. Twitter Engineering Blog. https://blog.twitter.com/engineering/en_us/topics/open-source/2023/twitter-recommendation-algorithmSuche in Google Scholar

Velasquez, A., & LaRose, R. (2015). Youth collective activism through social media: The role of collective efficacy. New Media & Society, 17(6), 899–918. https://doi.org/10.1177/146144481351839110.1177/1461444813518391Suche in Google Scholar

Vilella, S., Lai, M., Paolotti, D., & Ruffo, G. (2020). Immigration as a divisive topic: Clusters and content diffusion in the Italian Twitter debate. Future Internet, 12(10), Article 10. https://doi.org/10.3390/fi1210017310.3390/fi12100173Suche in Google Scholar

Williams, H. T. P., McMurray, J. R., Kurz, T., & Hugo Lambert, F. (2015). Network analysis reveals open forums and echo chambers in social media discussions of climate change. Global Environmental Change, 32, 126–138. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2015.03.00610.1016/j.gloenvcha.2015.03.006Suche in Google Scholar

Yan, P., & Schroeder, R. (2024). Drifting away from the mainstream: Media attention and the politics of hyperpartisan news websites. Weizenbaum Journal of the Digital Society, 4(2), Article 2. https://doi.org/10.34669/WI.WJDS/4.2.2Suche in Google Scholar

Zajak, S., Stjepandić, K., & Steinhilper, E. (2021). Pro-migrant protest in times of COVID-19: Intersectional boundary spanning and hybrid protest practices. European Societies, 23(sup1), S172–S183. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616696.2020.182107610.1080/14616696.2020.1821076Suche in Google Scholar

Zehring, M., & Domahidi, E. (2023). German Corona protest mobilizers on Telegram and their relations to the far right: A network and topic analysis. Social Media + Society, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305123115510610.1177/20563051231155106Suche in Google Scholar

Published Online: 2024-08-13

© 2024 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

Heruntergeladen am 19.10.2025 von https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/commun-2024-0023/html
Button zum nach oben scrollen