Should we increase military spending? Emotions in the public debate on social networks in Spain

Abstract

The provision of funds to the Ministry of Defense has traditionally been a matter of political debate in Spain that pits the governing parties against those in opposition. This article analyzes the level of political emotivism in the digital political debate on social networks (Facebook and Twitter) among political parties and leaders, the media and Internet citizens on the increase in military spending. Big Data techniques have been used to analyze the messages and the NRC Emoticon Lexicon dictionary has been applied to measure the emotions generated by traditional actors (media, political parties, and their leaders) in the debate. The results suggest that the media remain more neutral while political leaders especially promote the emotion of fear. The affective harmony is quite high between traditional actors and Internet users, and in both networks, with fear being the emotion that presents the lowest level of affective congruence. © 2024 Federacion Espanola de Sociologia. All rights reserved.