Junk News & Information Sharing During the 2019 UK General Election

TL;DR

This study analyzes social media sharing patterns during the 2019 UK General Election, focusing on the prevalence of junk news, user engagement, and dominant narratives to understand information dissemination and misinformation.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of the types, themes, and engagement levels of political junk news shared on social media during the election period.

Findings

High prevalence of extremist and sensationalist content in shared news

Significant engagement with junk news on Facebook

Dominant narratives centered around political conspiracy and polarization

Abstract

Today, an estimated 75% of the British public access information about politics and public life online, and 40% do so via social media. With this context in mind, we investigate information sharing patterns over social media in the lead-up to the 2019 UK General Elections, and ask: (1) What type of political news and information were social media users sharing on Twitter ahead of the vote? (2) How much of it is extremist, sensationalist, or conspiratorial junk news? (3) How much public engagement did these sites get on Facebook in the weeks leading and (4) What are the most common narratives and themes relayed by junk news outlets