General
#IStandWithDan vs #DictatorDan: how fringe accounts gamed Twitter during Melbourne’s lockdown
During the height of Melbourne’s lockdown, as the city struggled to contain the virus, a separate battle was being fought online.
Key points:
- Research shows hyper-partisan core of Twitter accounts drove pro- and anti-Dan Andrews hashtags during Melbourne’s lockdown
- Half of the top 50 Twitter accounts for anti-Andrews hashtags were fabricated or anonymous profiles
- The findings challenge the idea of trending hashtags as representative of popular opinion
On Twitter, it centred around rival hashtags backing or attacking Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews’ handling of the coronavirus outbreak.
On one side: #DictatorDan and #DanLiedPeopleDied. On the other: #IStandWithDan.
Popular opinion mattered more than ever — controlling the virus required…
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