Policy and Applied Technologies: Analysis of the Communicative Activities of Peru’s Presidential Candidates on Twitter and TikTok in the First Election Round in 2021

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic affected the proselytizing activities of all presidential candidates, forcing them to resort to technological tools. This study analyzed how the 2021 presidential candidates managed communication on Twitter and TikTok during the first election round in Peru. To achieve this objective, quantitative netnography was used. The results indicate that the candidates used social networks as means of unidirectional dissemination, a condition that hinders dialog and feedback in the communication strategy. Especially on Twitter, message planification was deficient, so the conjunctural component prevailed. On TikTok, the phenomenon of personalization is evident, imposing the personal component. Finally, on Twitter, issues such as the pandemic, the economy and campaign activities predominated, in the other hand on TikTok predominated the respective candidate’s image. Gender equality and constitutional change were the least addressed issues on both social networks.