Electoral Politics on Social Media: The Israeli Case

Abstract

This chapter discusses the role of social media in national election campaigns, focusing on the 2013 elections in Israel as a case study. Several common themes were found to be characteristic of Israeli electoral politics on social media: (1) Predominantly personal politics; (2) Prominence of anonymous and negative campaigns; (3) Focus on one platform; (4) Symbiotic relationship with traditional media; (5) Increased use of designated technology; (6) High level of civic engagement; and (7) Extensive use of memes and satire. The main reasons for these themes are the users’ increased digital literacy, the spread of easy-to-use developing tools, mitigation of the party status and the lack of regulation of online campaigns. Finally, we discuss the reasons for these behavioral practices.

Keywords: Israel, Social Media, e-Politics, Electoral Politics