Reactions to Juncker’s State of the Union speech show the difficulties in creating a European public sphere online

Can platforms like Twitter facilitate the creation of a European public sphere? Based on an analysis of tweets during Jean-Claude Juncker’s ‘State of the Union 2016’ speech, Javier Ruiz-Soler outlines how Twitter can be conceived of as a ‘networked public sphere’ in which citizens have the potential to engage in a more democratic and participative form of political conversation. He finds little evidence for a genuine public sphere existing in relation to the speech, but suggests that other topics can generate more heterogeneous networks, with civil society and independent actors playing a greater role.

• Primary Source

ESO: Background information: State of the Union 2016 http://www.europeansources.info/record/state-of-the-union-2016/

ESO: Background information: A European twitter sphere? What tweets on the Greek bailout say about how Europeans interact online http://www.europeansources.info/record/a-european-twitter-sphere-what-tweets-on-the-greek-bailout-say-about-how-europeans-interact-online/

ESO: Background information: Social media in election campaigning http://www.europeansources.info/record/social-media-in-election-campaigning/

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