Covert political campaigning: Mapping the scope, scale, and cost of cross-platform election influence operations

Fatima Gaw*, Jon Benedik A. Bunquin, Jose Mari H. Lanuza, Samuel I. Cabbuag, Noreen H. Sapalo, Al Habbyel Yusoph

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

Abstract

This study investigates gray areas of contemporary political campaigning from a political economy perspective. Using qualitative field and digital methods, computational methods, and economic modeling, it analyzes the scope, scale, and cost of commissioning social media influencers in the 2022 Philippine Elections across Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok. The researchers find that there is a high demand for influencers to campaign for candidates, characterized by premium and dynamic incentives under informal and obscure arrangements. We identified 1425 influencer accounts across the four social media platforms that engage in covert political campaigning and categorized them into seven types. The cost of these influencer-led campaigns is estimated to range from USD 27M following a pay-per-post compensation model, to USD 10.9M using a retainer model. This article serves as a model for both election research and election policy by providing a modular framework that addresses knowledge gaps in various country contexts.

Original languageEnglish
Number of pages24
JournalNew Media and Society
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 12 Jan 2025

Scopus Subject Areas

  • Communication
  • Sociology and Political Science

User-Defined Keywords

  • Computational method
  • cross-platform
  • disinformation
  • economic modeling
  • elections
  • field research
  • influence operations
  • political campaign
  • political economy
  • social media influencer

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