We May Disagree, but We All Love the BJP: Populists' Targeting Strategies on Twitter

With the rise of social media, politicians have been faced with both new challenges and opportunities in partitioning and presenting their message online. Populists have especially capitalized on the reach and absence of traditional gatekeepers on social media to achieve wide electoral success. Through analyzing the structure of the BJP network and the primary frames used in different clusters within the network, this paper seeks to determine whether populists target siloed constituencies with tailored messages or coalesce distinct constituencies through vague rhetoric that can appeal to the greatest common factor. The results suggest that the ruling party in India has primarily used microtargeting to cultivate siloed neighborhoods within its network of supporters. This practice is damaging for democracy because it reduces opportunities for debate in the public square and breeds an environment of misconceptions and pedaled falsehoods.