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How much can you say in a tweet? An approach to political argumentation on Twitter

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Listed:
  • Katarzyna Elliott-Maksymowicz

    (Drexel University)

  • Alexander Nikolaev

    (Drexel University)

  • Douglas Porpora

    (Drexel University)

Abstract

Besides Donald Trump, its most famous user, some 330 million people use Twitter as a platform for communication, much of it political. Yet, given the 280 character limit, how much can you say in a tweet? Although much has already been written about Twitter, little attention has been given to the nature of the argument found there. To begin filling this gap, it is necessary to identify the basic units of such an argument. Identifying them as speech acts, we demonstrate here by discourse analysis how by virtue of the enthymematic quality of public argument, much argument can be communicated even by singular speech acts and even by speech acts other than assertion.

Suggested Citation

  • Katarzyna Elliott-Maksymowicz & Alexander Nikolaev & Douglas Porpora, 2021. "How much can you say in a tweet? An approach to political argumentation on Twitter," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 8(1), pages 1-9, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:palcom:v:8:y:2021:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-021-00794-x
    DOI: 10.1057/s41599-021-00794-x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Matthew Gentzkow & Jesse M. Shapiro, 2011. "Ideological Segregation Online and Offline," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 126(4), pages 1799-1839.
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