TYPE O iginal Resea ch
PUBLISHED 12 Ma ch 2025
DOI 10.3389/ pos.2025.1534093
OPEN ACCESS
EDITED BY
Rubén Ri as-de-Roca,
Uni e si y o San iago de Compos ela, Spain
REVIEWED BY
Se giu Miscoiu,
Babe¸s-Bolyai Uni e si y, Romania
Sa a Rebollo-Bueno,
Loyola Andalusia Uni e si y, Spain
*CORRESPONDENCE
An onio Pineda
[email p o ec ed]
RECEIVED 25 No embe 2024
ACCEPTED 17 Feb ua y 2025
PUBLISHED 12 Ma ch 2025
CITATION
Pineda A, Quin ana-Pujal e L,
Rod íguez-L´
opez M and S´
anchez-Ma ín M
(2025) The social media communica ion o
Andalusian in e es g oups: in e ac ion,
poli ics, and p opaganda.
F on . Poli . Sci. 7:1534093.
doi: 10.3389/ pos.2025.1534093
COPYRIGHT
©2025 Pineda, Quin ana-Pujal e,
Rod íguez-L´
opez and S´
anchez-Ma ín. This is
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No use, dis ibu ion o ep oduc ion is
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e ms.
The social media communica ion
o Andalusian in e es g oups:
in e ac ion, poli ics, and
p opaganda
An onio Pineda1*, Le icia Quin ana-Pujal e2,
Ma ía Rod íguez-L´
opez2and Ma a S´
anchez-Ma ín1
1Depa amen o de Comunicación Audio isual y Publicidad, Uni e si y o Se ille, Se ille, Spain,
2Uni e si y o Malaga, Málaga, Spain
In e es g oups, one o he main exp essions o he di e si y o social in e es s in
he con empo a y wo ld, a e o ganiza ions ha se e as channels o b inging
social demands o he a en ion o he poli ical es ablishmen wi h he aim
o influencing he design, discussion, app o al, and implemen a ion o public
policies. This is achie ed h ough ac ions di ec ly aimed a public ins i u ions,
bu also h ough influence campaigns aimed a public opinion building (i.e.,
g ass oo s lobbying). Howe e , li le is known abou he communica ion
s a egies and echniques o in e es g oups on social media, a c ucial field
in he cu en poli ical landscape. This pape ocuses on communica ion as a
poin o con ac be ween in e es g oups and ins i u ions, hus filling a esea ch
gap. We pe o m a con en analysis o a sample o wee s pos ed by in e es
g oups om he sou he n Spanish egion o Andalusia, om he pe spec i e
o social media in e ac ion, digi al poli ical communica ion, and p opaganda.
Resul s indica e ha in e es g oups end o pos one-way messages, ha he
poli ical and ins i u ional communica ion echniques employed by hese g oups
eflec a es ic ed use o digi al media, and ha he p opaganda echniques
used aim o cons uc a a o able public image, bu wi hou any connec ion wi h
explici poli ical objec i es. All o which implies ha he communica ion o hese
g oups is deficien in e ms o g ass oo s lobbying.
KEYWORDS
Andalusian in e es g oups, poli ical communica ion, p opaganda, g ass oo s lobbying,
social media and poli ical communica ion
1 In oduc ion
E e y socie y is cha ac e ized by he mul iple and di e se in e es s o i s membe s.
Acco ding o Bu deau (1982), he mo e complex a socie y is, he mo e di e se he
in e es s o i s membe s will be, a si ua ion ha has gi en ise o an inc easingly g ea e
numbe o mo e speci ic and, in u n, mo e con adic o y in e es s. Today’s s eadily mo e
he e ogeneous socie ies include nume ous g oups o indi iduals ep esen ing he conce ns
and aspi a ions o speci ic sec ions (Almond, 1958;Cas les, 1973;Basso, 1983). Social
demands make hei way on o he poli ical agenda no only hanks o he ac ion o poli ical
pa ies, bu also—albei o a lesse deg ee— o ha o o he ypes o o ganiza ion, iz.
in e es g oups (Cas illo-Espa cia and Almansa-Ma ínez, 2020).
In e es g oups (he eina e IG) a e o ganiza ions ha e lec social plu alism and se e
as channels o b inging social demands o he a en ion o he poli ical es ablishmen
and he s a e, wi h a iew o pa icipa ing in he design, discussion, app o al, and
F on ie s in Poli ical Science 01 on ie sin.o g
Pineda e al. 10.3389/ pos.2025.1534093
implemen a ion o public policies (Cas illo-Espa cia e al., 2017).
Medina Ibo a and Bouza Ga cía (2020, p. 387) de ine in e es
g oups as “ o mally c ea ed associa ions o olun a y membe ship
ha de end sec o al demands in he poli ical p ocess, namely,
ha ep esen a speci ic collec i e o show in e es in a pa icula
policy.” Thus, he plu ali y o social in e es s is exp essed no
only h ough o mal channels, like pa ies, bu also h ough he
c ea ion o associa ions de ending speci ic in e es s. The di e ence
be ween bo h ypes o o ganiza ion is ha IG, al hough hey
pa icipa e in he poli ical p ocess and communica e in ela ion o
his, ha e no in e es in achie ing poli ical powe , in con as o
pa ies: IG ocus on in luencing go e nmen (Be y and Wilcox,
2018). Acco ding o Jo dana (2019, p. 368), “In e es g oups a e
unde s ood as all hose o ganiza ions ha , e en hough pa o all
o hei ac i i ies a e ocused on in e ening in he poli ical sys em,
do no pu sue poli ical powe bu s i e o ob ain o c ea e o hei
membe s public esou ces e iden ly p oduced o hemsel es bu
by public ins i u ions.”
When s udying he way in which such IG de end hei
in e es s, i is impo an o men ion wo o he e ms: p essu e
g oup and lobby. A p essu e g oup is a smalle uni wi hin
an IG de o ed o b inging p essu e—hence i s name— o bea
on he poli ical es ablishmen . B oadly speaking, one could say
ha when an IG app oaches go e nmen o call o a speci ic
piece o legisla ion, o o oice i s opposi ion o an exis ing
one, i becomes a p essu e g oup. When add essing he his o ical
e olu ion o his ela ionship, Young (1980) claimed ha mode n
lobbies and p essu e g oups eme ged om he demands made by
di e en IG. So, p essu e g oups appea ed when p e e ence was
shown o a speci ic channel— he go e nmen al— o de ending
g oup in e es s (Fe ando-Badía, 1984). Fo hei pa , lobbies
a e p o essional o ganiza ions whose in en ion is o con ince
membe s o he poli ical class o look a o ably upon he in e es s
hey a e de ending (Cas illo-Espa cia, 2001;Xi a, 2011;Dü
e al., 2015). Lobbies can be “agencies, p ess o ices o law i ms,
p o essionally de o ed o lobbying on behal o in e es o p essu e
g oups ha ha e hi ed hem o ha pu pose” (Ma ínez Cal o,
1998, p. 732). Typologically speaking, he ac ions o lobbies on
behal o IG end o be aimed di ec ly a public au ho i ies
(i.e., di ec lobbying; De Figuei edo and Rich e , 2014), bu also
a g ass oo s mobiliza ion. Communica ion plays a undamen al
ole in g ass oo s lobbying aimed a shaping public opinion.
Thus, some lobbyis s seek o a ac media a en ion, while o he s
wo k on ma e s a om he public eye (Be y and Wilcox,
2018).
Al hough IG and hei lobbying a e bo h ypical o he English-
speaking wo ld—coun ies like he Uni ed S a es (Be y and
Wilcox, 2018), in pa icula — hese g oups a e also p esen in o he
coun ies, such as Spain. The e has been a e i al o ci il socie y
when democ acy e u ned o Spain (since he mid-1970s), h ough
he c ea ion and expansion o nume ous social o ganiza ions
de ending pa icula in e es s (Cas illo-Espa cia and Almansa-
Ma ínez, 2020). Ci izens ha e uni ed in all so s o associa ions
in which hey ha e de eloped social and poli ical ac ions o
he pu pose o de ending hei in e es s in bo h adi ional and
eme ging sec o s (Molins and Medina, 2019). An indica ion ha
IG a e now i mly es ablished in Spain is he ac ha hei ac i i ies
a e now go e ned by na ional and in e na ional no ms h ough
egis e s1which a e based on he idea ha public decision-making
should be as anspa en and open as possible. Mo eo e , ci izens
ha e joined o ces in di e en ypes o associa ions o ake collec i e
ac ion enabling hem o pa icipa e in he design o new public
policies. These associa ions a e social o ces “whose ac ions a e
di ec ly aimed a he public au ho i ies (i.e., di ec lobbying) and/o
g ass oo s mobilisa ion” (Cas illo-Espa cia and Almansa-Ma ínez,
2020, p. 758).
The s udy o Spanish in e es g oups has a ce ain adi ion in
he ields o poli ical science and sociology (Gine and Pé ez Y uela,
1979,1988;Molins, 1989,1994;Molins and Mo a a, 1993). In his
connec ion, we aim o app oach hei ac i i ies om a di e en , and
much less esea ched pe spec i e. To his end, he ocus is placed
on he digi al communica ion beha io o IG in he au onomous
communi y o Andalusia (one o he mos impo an egions o
Spain), and speci ically on i s in e ac i e, poli ical, and p opaganda
dimensions. As o p o ide his objec o esea ch wi h a heo e ical
amewo k, i is i s necessa y o pe o m a li e a u e e iew on
IG communica ion.
2 Li e a u e e iew and heo e ical
amewo k
2.1 In e es g oups and communica ion
In e es g oups essen ially implemen wo ypes o s a egies
ha a e no mu ually exclusi e, namely, in e nal and ex e nal.
In e nal s a egies aim o ha e a di ec in luence on decision-
make s: main aining di ec con ac wi h poli ical ac o s, es i ying
in Pa liamen , o pa icipa ing in poli ical commi ees and hea ings.
In con as , he aim o ex e nal s a egies is o mobilize o
modi y public opinion, including ac ics such as o ganizing
demons a ions, dis ibu ing lea le s, and placing ads in newspape s
(Dü and Ma eo, 2019). E iden ly, when implemen ing ex e nal
s a egies, communica ion, and he media a e cen al o he modus
ope andi o IG.
Communica ion and public ela ions (he eina e PR) ha e
played an impo an ole in he heo e ical and me hodological
e olu ion o lobbying, placing he accen mo e on in o ma ion and
anspa ency han on “p essu e” and he subsequen sanc ioning
o such g oups when hei demands a e ejec ed (Pineda Cache o,
2002). Fo example, when de ining lobbying, Pasquino (1982,
p. 751) unde sco ed he communica ion ac o : “I is a p ocess
1 Men ion should go o he EU T anspa ency Regis e (he eina e RTCE)
launched by he Eu opean Pa liamen and he Eu opean Commission on 23
June 2011; he In e es G oup Regis e o he Spanish Na ional Ma ke s and
Compe i ion Commission (he eina e CNMC) o he Minis y o Economy,
Indus y and Compe i i eness (MINECO); Execu i e O de 1/2017, o he
14 Feb ua y, by i ue o which he In e es G oup Regis e o Ca alonia
was c ea ed and egula ed; he ag eemen o 28 June 2017 o he plena y
mee ing o Mad id Ci y Council, acco ding o which he basic guidelines o
he IG egis e we e es ablished in he T anspa ency O dinance o he Ci y
o Mad id; Dec ee 8/2018, o 20 Feb ua y, p o iding o he In e es G oup
Regis e o Cas ile-La Mancha; he T anspa ency and Pa icipa ion By-Law
10/2019 egula ing he in e es g oup egis e ; and he Ci izen Pa icipa ion
Law 7/2017 o Andalusia, o 27 Decembe .
F on ie s in Poli ical Science 02 on ie sin.o g
Pineda e al. 10.3389/ pos.2025.1534093
h ough which he ep esen a i es o in e es g oups, ac ing as
in e media ies, b ing he desi es o hei g oups o he no ice
o legisla o s and decision-make s. The e o e, lobbying chie ly
in ol es con eying he messages o p essu e g oups o decision-
make s h ough specialis ep esen a i es.” O he au ho s ha e
also unde s ood lobbying as a communica ion ac i i y on behal
o a p essu e o in e es g oup (Ma ínez Cal o, 1998), as a PR
communica ion p ocess (Xi a, 1998), o as pa o he global
communica ion o a company (Feo, 2001).
Acco ding o Somme eld e al. (2019, p. 9), lobbying “is mo e
o an in e pe sonal a he han mass o media ed communica ion
ac i i y.” Howe e , his does no p e en he media om being
used o in luence public opinion. Indeed, one o he mos
impo an esou ces is he a o emen ioned g ass oo s lobbying.
Communica ion di ec ed o public opinion has ecei ed plen y o
a en ion in No h Ame ican poli ical science, abo e all ollowing
he ad en o he so-called “new lobbying”—which pu s he
emphasis on public opinion and poli ical educa ion, unlike he
“old lobbying” based on ac ions di ec ly aimed a membe s o
pa liamen (Cas illo-Espa cia, 2003)—as e idenced by he s udies
pe o med by Fowle and Shaiko (1987) and Whi eley and Winya d
(1987). The unde lying logic is ha IG aim o c ea e he pe cep ion
ha he public sympa hizes wi h hei aspi a ions and demands
o he causes hey a e de ending, hus making i ha d o public
au ho i ies o adop decisions ha go agains g oups ha a e seen
in a a o able ligh by mos o he ci izen y. Thus, lobbyis s use
he media o p essu e policymake s by in luencing public opinion
(Vesa, 2022). Be y and Wilcox (2018) poin ou ha many IG
engage in ou side lobbying, o g ass oo s lobbying, o in luence
policymake s, and, al hough he g ass oo s app oach is a mains ay
o ci izen g oups, co po a ions and ade associa ions ha e also
begun o ealize i s powe .
The ela ionship be ween lobbying and communica ion has
been app oached om di e en pe spec i es, anging om he
communica ion echniques, ac ics, and s a egies o lobbies
and IG (Cas illo-Espa cia and Almansa-Ma ínez, 2011;Vesa,
2022) o hei media p esence (Cas illo-Espa cia e al., 2017),
h ough elemen s gi ing shape o s a egies aimed a public
opinion building (Cas illo-Espa cia, 2003) and he p oposal o a
desc ip i e classi ica ion o he communica ion s a egies employed
in lobbying (Lock and Da idson, 2024). Using agenda-se ing
heo y, Huckins s udies co ela ions be ween he agendas o he
IG Ch is ian Coali ion and majo U.S. newspape s, and concludes
ha an in e es g oup “can make a pu pose ul impac on media
co e age” (Huckins, 1999, p. 83). Resea ch has also been conduc ed
on he e ec i eness o communica ion s a egies adop ed by IG,
including he s udy pe o med by Vidal Salaza and Delgado
Ceballos (2013) on he modi ica ion o he en i onmen al beha io
o decision-make s. Fo hei pa , Be y and Wilcox (2018) ha e
highligh ed he ele ance o speci ic ac s ega ding lobbying’s
message e ec i eness. Mo eo e , i has been no ed ha he e a e
h ee kinds o g oups which usually ha e g ea e access o he
media: i s , business g oups—which enjoy a high le el o access in
all coun ies and sys ems s udied; second, ade unions; and hi d,
ce ain kinds o ci izen g oups, especially public IG (Vesa, 2022).
F om a sec o al poin o iew, lobbying communica ion has been
s udied in he en i onmen al ield (He anz de la Casa e al., 2017),
while analyses ha e also been pe o med on he communica ion
s a egies o pha ma companies wi h he aim o in luencing he
e ision o hei d ugs o hei au ho iza ion (Ba be and Dies e,
2019), as well as he ools used by in e es g oups in ela ion o a law
on he consump ion o swee be e ages in Colombia (Díaz-Ga cía
e al., 2020).
Un il he ad en o new communica ion echnologies, he
de ini ion, assigna ion, and placemen o social demands we e
limi ed by he le el o access o he public au ho i ies and by
he con ol o he media. Howe e , echnology has modi ied ha
landscape by c ea ing new communica ion spaces wi h in e ac ion
ia ne wo ks (Cas ells’ ne wo k socie y) (Cas illo-Espa cia e al.,
2017). As no ed by Casacube a and Gu ié ez-Rubí (2010, p. 4),
“The in oduc ion o in o ma ion and communica ion echnologies
(o ICTs) in pa icipa ion p ocesses (e-pa icipa ion) does no
imply c ea ing a new ype o pa icipa ion bu simply mo e
pa icipa ion.” As a esul , new channels unde mining he exis ing
ba ie s o social, poli ical, and economic powe ha e been
opened (Canel, 1999), signi ying ha he his o ical e olu ion
o communica ion echnology has in luenced IG ac i i y. Fo
ins ance, digi ally linked collec i e pa icipa ion can be bene icial
o IG. Ha o and Samped o (2011) ound ha some (new)
associa i e p o iles possessed ce ain cha ac e is ic ea u es, such
as i al communica ion ac ion and digi al in e ac ions, among
o he s. In pa icula , g ass oo s lobbying has p o i ed om new
echnology, which has helped lowe ing he cos o g ass oo s
mobiliza ion (Be y and Wilcox, 2018). On he o he hand, online
communica ion is used in pa allel o mo e adi ional kinds. As
obse ed by Fuchs (2014), ac i is s’ communica ion is complex,
combining o line and online o ma s, and using digi al and non-
digi al media. In a simila ein, a s udy based on su ey da a
ela ing o senio PR p ac i ione s in i e coun ies concluded
ha lobbying was associa ed wi h a g ea e use o he epe oi e
o adi ional media, as well as digi al media like podcas s and
blogs (Somme eld e al., 2019). In any case, social ne wo king
si es (he eina e SNS) ha e al eady been used o mobilize public
opinion in di e en Eu opean coun ies (Dü and Ma eo, 2019).
Wha is mo e, since he consolida ion o SNS he numbe o ac ions
aimed a exe ing p essu e and in luence on poli ical and social
ac o s in he public space has inc eased, hus shaping he dynamics
o he digi al en i onmen (Van Dijck e al., 2018). SNS ha e also
been add essed in esea ch on IG and communica ion, such as
he s udy pe o med by C is ancho (2021) on he agenda o hese
g oups on Twi e (now X), e ealing ha he COVID-19 pandemic
had no eally modi ied hei modus ope andi.
2.2 In e es g oups, poli ical
communica ion, and p opaganda
The digi al ealm is also ele an o he poli ical dimension o
IG communica ion. As al eady seen, he ac i i y o hese g oups
ocuses on in e ening in he poli ical sys em (Jo dana, 2019). The
IG phenomenon is ul ima ely ela ed o he in e es s o social and
poli ical ac o s (Cas illo-Espa cia e al., 2017), whe eas phenomena
like ha o he “ e ol ing doo s” poin o he connec ion be ween
he co po a e wo ld and poli ics (Os io e al., 2023). Consequen ly,
i is only na u al ha IG communica ion should be conside ed
F on ie s in Poli ical Science 03 on ie sin.o g
Pineda e al. 10.3389/ pos.2025.1534093
as a mani es a ion o he poli ical so . E en mo e so when he
IG ins i u ional sys em in Spain has li le au onomy ega ding
go e nmen and poli ical pa ies (Molins and Medina, 2019). I , as
obse ed by Co a elo (2010), he poli ical a ena is now on he Web,
he impo ance o digi al communica ion means ha i is essen ial
o enqui e mo e deeply in o he way in which o ganiza ions a e
managed and de elop in he poli ical public space. Mo eo e ,
social media such as Twi e and Facebook ha e gi en poli ical
ac o s a new channel by which o in luence public opinion di ec ly,
pe mi ing hem o bypass p o essional news media (Vesa, 2022).
In his espec , he amoun o esea ch conduc ed hi he o in
Spain on ac i ism, digi al communica ion, and mobiliza ion should
come as no su p ise (Anduiza e al., 2009;Cas illo-Espa cia and
Smolak-Lozano, 2013;Micó and Case o-Ripollés, 2014;To e ,
2013;Cas illo-Espa cia e al., 2017;Cas illo-Espa cia and Almansa-
Ma ínez, 2020). These s udies, ocusing on he poli ical po en ial o
digi al ools, ha e placed he spo ligh on social p o es mo emen s.
The eby we a i e a he i s key concep o ou heo e ical
amewo k: in e ac ion, which s ems om he poli ical po en ial
o digi al media, and which can be ega ded as one key aspec o
SNS. This po en ial should be linked o heo ies o he poli ical
oppo uni ies o e ed by he In e ne , which ha e adi ionally
e ol ed a ound concep s such as p oximi y, dialogue, and
ho izon al ela ionships— o ins ance, he idea o he In e ne
as a de elopmen ha acili a es pa icipa ion and engagemen
(Beka igo and McB ide, 2013;Ve gee e al., 2011) ela es o he
no ion o an egali a ian deba e. As s a ed by Cas illo-Espa cia and
Almansa-Ma ínez (2020, p. 759), “Poli icians need o lis en o
hei audiences and, he e o e, can (and i is ad isable ha hey
do) le e age he in e ac i e po en ial o he In e ne , con inually
in i ing he ci izen y o pa icipa e and eplying o hei p oposals
and app oaches.” The chance o es ablish in e ac i e poli ical
communica ion wi h hese audiences is he e o e a cha ac e is ic
o IG online communica ion.
To his heo e ical amewo k g ounded in he connec ion
o IG poli ical communica ion and digi al in e ac ion, should be
added a ype o communica ion adi ionally linked o poli ics and
ideology, iz. p opaganda. The p opaganda phenomenon has been
he objec o coun less app oaches and de ini ions o e ime, as well
as o deba es on i s na u e (Pineda Cache o, 2006;Nilsson, 2012).
Conside ing he objec i es o his wo k, he de ini ion o e ed
by Jowe and O’Donnell (1986, p. 16) seems o be app op ia e:
“P opaganda is he delibe a e and sys ema ic a emp o shape
pe cep ions, manipula e cogni ions, and di ec beha io o achie e
a esponse ha u he s he desi ed in en o he p opagandis .”
Howe e , as his de ini ion makes no e e ence o he con en o
p opaganda, his can be ec i ied by s a ing ha “ he desi ed in en
o he p opagandis ” always has o do wi h achie ing, main aining,
and ein o cing a posi ion o social powe , o en unde pinned by
ideological con en (Pineda Cache o, 2008). Powe and ideology
a e hus wo concep s ha a e cen al o de ining p opaganda,
which, as occu s wi h in e es g oups, p oduces communica ion
based on he in e es o he sende . Pe aining o he connec ion
be ween p opaganda and IG, i is no coincidence ha Lasswell’s
(1995) concep o p opaganda includes he ac i i ies o lobbies and
p essu e g oups, no ha lobbying communica ion occasionally
o e laps wi h poli ical communica ion and/o p opaganda (Doob,
1966). Fo ins ance, he eligious-mo al An i-Saloon League,
c ea ed in 1893 a he peak o he mo emen in a o o banning
he consump ion o alcohol in he US, employed o ganiza ion
and p opaganda echniques (Young, 1980). In he US, acco ding
o Key (1962), and despi e he exis ence o o ganized lobbies
since he nine een h cen u y, hei spec acula g ow h occu ed
abo e all in he wake o he Fi s Wo ld Wa , whose disco e y o
scien i ic p opaganda had a di ec in luence on he me hods used by
p essu e g oups. IG ha e his o ically used p opaganda echniques
whose undamen al pu pose is g ass oo s lobbying, aimed a public
opinion building, and he e is no eason o belie e ha he cu en
si ua ion in he digi al wo ld should be di e en . This assump ion
ela es di ec ly o he esea ch aims o his pape .
3 Resea ch aims and ques ions
Spanish IG app oach ins i u ions h ough ad iso y commi ees
wi h he in en ion o o mally channeling dialogue be ween he
go e nmen and o ganiza ions ep esen ing social in e es s. The
majo na ional ade unions and business con ede a ions a e he
IG wi h he g ea es p esence in hese commi ees. Ano he way
o app oaching ins i u ions is h ough pa liamen a y hea ings o
which expe s and ep esen a i es o g oups a e in i ed o sha e
hei iews on ma e s deba ed in pa liamen a y commi ees. The
hi d way o gaining access o ins i u ions a e IG egis e s, which
in Spain ha e been seen as a way o disclosing who is in e es ed
in in luencing he poli ical p ocess (Molins and Medina, 2019).
Ne e heless, none o hese adi ional o ms o lobbying ake in o
accoun he communica ion ac o . O ganiza ions can in luence
legisla i e p ocedu es and public policy implemen a ion by gaining
a comp ehensi e knowledge o how ins i u ions wo k wi h an eye
o gaining access o decision-make s, bu can also b ing p essu e
o bea indi ec ly h ough he media (De Figuei edo and Rich e ,
2014). The e is a as amoun o li e a u e on he i s app oach
(e.g., Baumga ne e al., 2009;Beye s e al., 2015;Binde k an z
e al., 2015;Muñoz, 2016;Medina and Chaqués-Bona on , 2024),
albei a lo less on he communica ion o in e es g oups (Fowle
and Shaiko, 1987;Whi eley and Winya d, 1987;Fa nel, 1994;Xi a,
2011;Cas illo-Espa cia, 2001).
Acco dingly, we in end o ill a esea ch gap in ha he
communica ion s a egies o in e es g oups ha e seldom been
s udied (Almi on and Xi a, 2016;Cas illo Espa cia, 2011), and
e en less so on SNS. Mo eo e , he dea h o li e a u e on
communica ion s a egies aimed a implemen ing IG ac ions is
e en mo e e iden in he case o hose wi h a egional scope. One
s udy enqui es in o how he media can ac as a p essu e g oup,
as illus a ed in Andalusia by he Ca lis newspape La Unión and
i s opposi ion o he Spanish Second Republic (Langa Nuño and
Ál a ez Rey, 2010). The egion o Andalusia (ou objec o s udy)
has been app oached om he pe spec i e o associa ions (Del Pino
Espejo, 2013), bu he e is li le esea ch on cu en Andalusian IG
communica ion. The e o e, he in en ion o his s udy—pe o med
in he amewo k o he esea ch p ojec “Lobby y Comunicación
en la Unión Eu opea. Análisis de sus es a egias de comunicación”
(Lobbying and communica ion in he Eu opean Union: An analysis
o i s communica ion s a egies) ( e . PID2020-118584RB-I00)—is
o p o ide empi ical e idence ha ills he knowledge gap ega ding
F on ie s in Poli ical Science 04 on ie sin.o g
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he digi al communica ion o Spanish in e es g oups and, in
pa icula , Andalusia-based IG.
The p ima y esea ch objec i e is o gain deepe insigh s in o
he communica ion o Andalusian in e es g oups on SNSs. The
eason behind selec ing an au onomous communi y like Andalusia
is down o he ac ha Spain has a mo e o less decen alized
poli ical cul u e, since he es ablishmen o egional and local
go e nmen s has e i o ialised social in e es s and b oadened he
oppo uni ies o gaining access o public ins i u ions. This has
gi en ise o a web o in e es s e ol ing a ound Spanish egional
poli ics— egional IG ha ha e e en collabo a ed in he ounding
o new poli ical pa ies (Molins and Medina, 2019). As an objec
o s udy, Andalusia is also ele an gi en ha i is one o he mos
impo an egions o Spain: in 2020, i had 8,464,411 inhabi an s,
hus accoun ing o nea ly a i h o he na ional popula ion o
47,450,795 (INE, 2020). Besides, he use o SNS is ai ly widesp ead,
wi h 64.6% o he Andalusian popula ion being In e ne use s,
sligh ly abo e he na ional a e age o 63.2% (INE, 2022).
Di ec ly ela ed o IG communica ion, he second gene al
esea ch objec i e is o de e mine which g oups ha e he
highes a e age communica ion ac i i y and whe he hey
consequen ly ca y ou ac ions o public opinion building
(g ass oo s mobiliza ion) (Cas illo-Espa cia e al., 2017). G ass oo s
lobbying, as an in luence echnique, is a long-deba ed opic in
No h Ame ican poli ical science (Whi eley and Winya d, 1987;
Fowle and Shaiko, 1987), al hough i has no a oused as much
academic in e es in o he egions o he wo ld. The e o e, we aim
o ill ye ano he esea ch gap by gauging he use o g ass oo s
lobbying in Andalusia.
Seconda y esea ch objec i es include iden i ying he main
Andalusian in e es g oups appea ing in o icial egis e s, checking
he SNSs hey use, and measu ing he le el o in e ac ion o
IG communica ion wi h hei audiences. F om he iewpoin
o he con en o communica ion, he objec i e is o analyse
he messages o Andalusian IG, de e mining hei le el o
in e ac ion (gi en he dialogic po en ial o SNS) and hei
use o poli ical communica ion and p opaganda echniques.
As al eady obse ed, when unning g ass oo s lobbying
campaigns wi h ideological con en , and a he se ice o
powe s uc u es, IG a e in ol ed in ac i i ies indis inguishable
om p opaganda om a his o ical angle. I is he e o e
wo hwhile analyzing whe he Andalusian IG ha e in en ions o
his kind.
These p ima y and seconda y objec i es a e g ounded in he
ollowing esea ch ques ions (he eina e RQ):
RQ1. Which Andalusian in e es g oups a e eco ded in
o icial egis e s?
RQ2. To wha ex en do Andalusian in e es g oups use SNS?
RQ3. Do Andalusian IG es ablish in e ac i e communica ion
wi h hei audiences on X ( o me ly Twi e )?
RQ4. Do Andalusian IG employ poli ical communica ion
echniques on X?
RQ5. Do Andalusian IG employ p opaganda s a egies and
echniques on X wi h an eye o eaching poli ical objec i es?
To hese i e RQ can be added ano he gene al one, he answe o
which is based on he da a collec ed om RQ1–RQ5:
RQ6. Do Andalusian IG use X o g ass oo s lobbying?
4 Ma e ials and me hod
The da a collec ion echnique employed o answe he RQ
is con en analysis (K ippendo , 2004), a classic me hodology
o pe o ming communica ion s udies, and pa icula ly use ul o
iden i ying pa e ns in se s o messages. In o de o ope a ionalise
he i s RQ and e ie e da a ela ing o he sampled in e es
g oups, he R p og amming language (R Co e Team, 2021)
and he RS udio in eg a ed de elopmen en i onmen (RS udio
Team, 2021) we e used. Du ing he p ocess, web sc aping
echniques using he R es (Wickham e al., 2021) and Rselenium
(Pe ai, 2021) packages we e employed. The combina ion o hese
esou ces allowed o de elop a code o downloading he ele an
in o ma ion om wo egis e s: he CNMC (Comisión Nacional de
los Me cados y la Compe encia, 2023) and he RTCE (Eu opean
Commission, n.d.), he la e c ea ed by he Eu opean Commission
and Eu opean Pa liamen in 2011 o uni e hei IG egis e s (Dü
and Ma eo, 2019). Following his, he names o all Andalusian
municipali ies (Ins i u o de Es adís ica y Ca og a ía de Andalucía,
2023) we e c ossed wi h he headqua e s o all IG included in
he wo da abases—in bo h, i is he in e es g oup ha es ablishes
i s domicilia ion, which does no ha e o coincide wi h hei
iscal add ess. Two andom samples we e selec ed o e i y he
coincidence be ween he IG de ec ed and he lis o Andalusian
IG. A e wa ds, he da a we e cleaned in o de o p epa e hem o
analysis. The numbe o IG based in Andalusia was hen il e ed by
a human esea che , emo ing om he lis o he CNMC especially
hose indi iduals and companies ha could be ega ded as ex e nal
lobbies o lawye s, and o a lesse ex en hose g oups wo king in
speci ic socioeconomic a eas.
Rega ding RQ2, he digi al p esence o Andalusian IG was
assessed by iden i ying he SNS hey used. Social media we e chosen
as communica ion ou le s because hey a e a e y ele an ool
when shaping public opinion in Spain, which is he ul ima e aim
o g ass oo s lobbying—acco ding o o icial sociological da a, hey
a e he second mos popula channel o keeping ab eas o poli ical
a ai s and elec ion news (CIS, 2019). A sea ch was un on he
p esence o in e es g oups on X, Me a, Ins ag am, LinkedIn, and
YouTube. In ligh o he esul s, i was decided o ocus he con en
analysis ela ing o RQ3, RQ4, and RQ5 on X. The main eason
behind his was quan i a i e, since he e was a highe numbe o
p o iles o Andalusian IG on his SNS. Ne e heless, he e we e also
quali a i e easons o selec ing his social si e. Fi s ly, i is he one
ha has a oused he g ea es schola ly in e es ega ding poli ics
(Ramos-Se ano e al., 2018;E ans e al., 2019), and poli ical
communica ion is one o ou esea ch aims. Secondly, X use is ai ly
widesp ead in Spain (Ga cía O ega and Zugas i Azag a, 2014), hus
making i an appealing SNS o IG aiming o each public opinion.
Addi ionally—and despi e he modi ica ions ha X has unde gone
unde he new managemen o Elon Musk— his pla o m s ill has
a high p esence o in o ma ion and poli ical con en which is ideal
o analyzing cu en s o public opinion (Dubois e al., 2018), in line
wi h g ass oo s lobbying. Mo eo e , X has al eady been app oached
om he pe spec i e adop ed he e, he li e a u e con aining some
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o o he analysis o IG Twi e communica ion (Díaz-Ga cía e al.,
2020;C is ancho, 2021).
RQ3, ela ing o he in e ac i i y o communica ion, was
ope a ionalized ollowing a s udy pe o med by G aham e al.
(2013) on poli ical communica ion, in which hey dis inguished
h ee ypes o wee s: no mal pos , @- eply and e wee —a ypology
simila o ha used by La sson and Moe (2011). F om his
ypology, he @ eply was ope a ionalized as a basic indica o
o in e ac ion—in ac , i has al eady been used as e idence o
dialogue and in e ac ion (C iado e al., 2013;Ahmed and Sko ic,
2014;Zugas i Azag a and Pé ez González, 2015). So, when an
IG wee con ained a commen made by some o o he use
o which he o me eplied, i was classi ied as an in e ac i e
pos . The coding shee also included a a iable speci ying ha , in
he case o in e ac ion, i should indica e he ype o use wi h
which his ook place: public/ci izen, jou nalis /media, lobbyis ,
expe , indus ialis /indus y, au ho i y, celeb i y, poli ician, and
ac i is /non-go e nmen al o ganiza ion (he eina e NGO). As a
second indica o o in e ac ion, e e ences o use s (Cap io i and
Zele , 2020)—aimed a gene a ing some so o dialogue o con ac
in he digi al sphe e—we e also ope a ionalized.
RQ4, ela ing o poli ical communica ion echniques, was
ope a ionalized ollowing Canel’s wo k (Canel, 2006) on he
poli ical communica ion echniques o ins i u ions, es ablishing
he ollowing ca ego ies: in o ma ion aimed a he media,
oning down language, neu alizing nega i e in o ma ion, leaks,
p ess con e ences, p ess e iews, e en o ganiza ion, speeches,
s a emen s, ad e ising placemen , messages o IG spokespeople,
messages o p ess o ice s/heads o communica ion/di ec o s o
communica ion, and use o o he web o ma s (o he han X). The
con en analysis iden i ies he p esence o hese echniques in he
wee s pos ed by IG on X.
The coding shee included wo a iables ela ing o RQ5,
namely, he use o p opaganda de ices and he iden i ica ion o
poli ical objec i es. As o p opaganda esou ces, he ollowing
classic ca ego ies, p oposed by he Ins i u e o P opaganda
Analysis (1995), we e conside ed: he name-calling de ice (when
some o o he ad e sa y is cas in a nega i e ligh , wi hou e idence
o implica ions); he gli e ing-gene ali ies de ice (p opagandis s
iden i y hei p og ammes as some hing i uous, ideal); he
ans e de ice ( he p es ige o au ho i y o an ins i u ion is
ans e ed o he objec o p opaganda); he es imonial de ice
(a well-known pe son speaks ou in a o o he p opagandis );
he plain- olks de ice (powe ul indi iduals p o ess o be down-
o-ea h people); he ca d-s acking de ice (use o decei ); and
he band-wagon de ice (appeals o g oup uni y). Rega ding he
poli ical goal, i was de e mined whe he IG a acked, de ended
o ook a neu al s ance owa d Spanish poli ical pa ies and he
coun y’s egional and na ional go e nmen s, o whe he hey
lacked poli ical objec i es.
In ela ion o sample design, and a e de e mining ha 47
Andalusian IG had ac i e p o iles on X, i was decided ha he
con en analysis should be based on a uni e se comp ising all he
wee s pos ed on X by hese g oups du ing 2023. The web sc aping
Pops e ool was used o ob ain he wee s o each in e es g oup,
be o e il e ing he esul s o elimina e he commen s hey had
made on X abou he wee s o o he p o iles which did no o m
pa o he pos s o hei own X walls. The compila ion o all he
FIGURE 1
Ca ego ies o IG egis e ed in he RTCE (%).
pos s esul ed in a uni e se (N) o 14,271 wee s. On he basis
o his popula ion, sys ema ic andom sampling was used, wi h a
con idence le el o 95% and a ma gin o e o o 5%, indica ing
an app op ia e sample size o 374 uni s. Following he sys ema ic
andom p ocedu e (K ippendo , 2004), a sample in e al (k) was
calcula ed by di iding he size o he popula ion (N) by ha o he
app op ia e sample size (n=374) and by selec ing a andom s a
be ween 1 and k o de e mine he i s uni o be sampled, be o e
con inuing wi h he in e al un il ob aining all sample uni s. The
sys ema ic sample in e al was k=38, and no. 5 was selec ed by lo
as s a in e al.
Pe aining o in e code eliabili y, ollowing an ini ial wo-
code eliabili y es based on K ippendo ’s alpha (α) and
pe cen age ag eemen (PA) coe icien s, he in e ac ion and
poli ical objec i e a iables o he pos s eached maximum le els
o ag eemen (α=1). Howe e , hose ela ing o poli ical
communica ion (α= −0.036) and p opaganda echniques (α=
−0.063) ailed o each he minimum accep able h eshold in
con en analysis in e ms o K ippendo ’s α(α=0.8), al hough
he poli ical communica ion echnique a iable ob ained a PA =
86.87%. A e a discussion wi h code s in which he in e p e a ion
o p oblema ic a iables was ine- uned, in a second wo-code
es he poli ical communica ion and p opaganda a iables eached
pe ec eliabili y (α=1). Coding was pe o med by h ee au ho s
o his pape using Excel, a so wa e p og am ha has also been
u ilized in he p ocessing and exploi a ion o da a.
5 Resul s
The i s esul s p esen ed below ha e o do wi h he ype o
in e es g oup eco ded in he o icial egis e s. The lis con ains a
o al o 57 egis e ed Andalusian g oups (Annex 1), speci ically, 35
in he RTCE and 24 in he CNMC— he eal o al is no 57 because
wo o hem (Fundación Sa ia po el Comp omiso y los Valo es,
and ENTRA Ag egación y Flexibilidad) a e egis e ed in bo h. Fi s
and o emos , his indica es ha he IG wi h iscal domiciles in
Andalusia end o egis e hemsel es in he RTCE, a he han in
he CNMC. As o he sec o s o which hese IG belong, Figu e 1
shows he ypes o IG egis e ed in he RTCE.
F on ie s in Poli ical Science 06 on ie sin.o g
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FIGURE 2
Ca ego ies o IG egis e ed in he CNMC (%).
The p edominance o companies and business g oups, as well
as comme cial and business associa ions, among Andalusian IG in
he RTCE is plain o see, o bo h accoun o 65% o he o al.
In he CNMC (Figu e 2), howe e , indi idual companies gi e way
o comme cial and business associa ions, comp ising nea ly 30%
o he o al. The p esence o companies and business g oups is
ema kable as well. This Spanish egis e , mo eo e , has a g ea e
numbe o social IG, gi en he p e alence o he associa ion,
ounda ion, and NGO ca ego y (25%).
Conce ning he use o SNS, Twi e /X and Me a we e he
mos popula among Andalusian IG, which also pu LinkedIn
o a ai amoun o use (Table 1). Compa a i ely speaking, he
pe cen ages did no a y much be ween he RTCE and he CNMC,
al hough he in e es g oups o ien ed owa d Eu ope a ached
g ea e impo ance o Facebook/Me a and he ideo-sha ing si e
YouTube han hose wi h a na ional ocus. A any a e, i is
impo an o s ess ha IG did no pu social media o an exhaus i e
use, o some o hem had no p esence wha soe e on he wo main
SNS and, mo eo e , o he s simply did no ha e any SNS p o iles
a all.
Focusing on Twi e /X, Figu e 3 shows ha he as majo i y
o he Andalusian in e es g oups wi h p o iles on he SNS did
no o en pos wee s, wi h ou o hem (Di ulgación Dinámica—
Dynamic Popula iza ion; FACUA-Consumido es en Acción—
FACUA-Consume s in Ac ion; Au ismo Se illa—Au ism Se ille;
and he Conseje ía de Salud y Consumo de la Jun a de Andalucía—
Heal h and Consume Depa men o he Andalusian egional
go e nmen ) accoun ing o mo e han 60% o he sample. In
pa icula , Di ulgación Dinámica, he mos ac i e IG on Twi e /X
(pos ing 36.4% o all he wee s), is a social sciences aining po al,
whe eas FACUA (14.4%), in second place, is an NGO de o ed o
de ending consume igh s.
Mo ing on o he ype o communica ion Andalusian IG
es ablish wi h hei audiences, he le el o in e ac ion de ec ed
in he pos s (a dicho omous a iable) indica es ha only 1.6%
o pos s (namely, six pos s) on Twi e /X can be ega ded as
ha ing es ablished some so o in e ac i e communica ion wi h
hei audiences, inso a as ha nea ly 100% o hem co esponded
o he no mal, one-way wee ca ego y—speci ically, he numbe
o no mal pos s amoun s o 368, ha is, 98.4%. The only
use p o ile wi h which he e was in e ac ion (on he e y ew
occasions on which his occu ed) was he gene al public and
he ci izen y, wi hou aking in o conside a ion o he audiences
ha ha e adi ionally been e y impo an o IG ac ions, such
as he poli ical class and expe s. As o e e ences o use s as
an indica o o in e ac ion, he esul s a e gene ally, bu no
exclusi ely, mo e a o able: 21.4% o he pos s on Twi e /X
con ained such e e ences, whe eas 78.6% had none wha soe e .
Tha almos 80% o he pos s o IG did no men ion use s ye again
highligh s hei scan in e es in in e ac i e communica ion.
Rega ding communica ion con en , he poli ical
communica ion echnique mos p e alen (in 186 o he 374
pos s analyzed, i.e., nea ly 50%) was he use o o he web
o ma s (Figu e 4). This can be exempli ied by a wee pos ed
on 3 Janua y 2023—in o ming ha FACUA had no ed ha he
p ices o oods u s a ec ed by he lowe VAT a e could no
be inc eased in he nex 4 mon hs, excep in he case o highe
p oduc ion cos s—which included a link o he IG’s websi e
( acua.o g). This echnique was ollowed a conside able dis ance
by e en o ganiza ion (16%) and ad e ising placemen (13.6%).
Consequen ly, he mos habi ual communica ion end was o
in e es g oups o use hei p o iles o edi ec hei audiences
o con en pos ed on o he si es. This unde sco es ye again he
one-way na u e o he communica ion, while ela ing o he o he
wo echniques de ec ed o a g ea e ex en (e en o ganiza ion
and ad e ising placemen ), in which ha communica ion was
cha ac e ized by an asymme y in a o o IG. In any case, he
dea h o echniques ela ing o message con en is s iking, as
well as he ac ha Andalusian o ganiza ions did no use any
poli ical o ins i u ional communica ion echnique in 10% o he
messages. S a is ically, and acco ding o Pea son’s chi-squa ed
es s (χ2), he e is no signi ican ela ion be ween he poli ical
communica ion echniques a iable and he in e ac i i y a iable
(χ2=3.60; p=0.98).
The p opaganda echniques adop ed by IG (Figu e 5) we e
mo e ela ed o poli ical con en . Howe e , hei use did no seem o
be decisi e, o no p opaganda esou ces we e de ec ed in 67.1% o
he sample (251 wee s). The only no ewo hy echniques we e he
gli e ing-gene ali ies (p esen in 14.7%) and he ans e de ices
(13.4%). The gli e ing-gene ali ies de ice, which iden i ies he
p og amme o he sende wi h some o o he i ue, is illus a ed
by a wee pos ed by ConBici (Coo dinado a Española en De ensa
de la Bicicle a), an IG ad oca ing o he use o bicycles, on
17 May, in which i was con ended ha in Spain “ he bicycle
indus y employs 25,000 people, a numbe ha could inc ease i
his mode o anspo is p omo ed and adequa e poli ical measu es
a e aken.” Besides hese wo echniques, Andalusian IG we e no
ha in e es ed in con eying hei messages o communica i ely
app oaching ins i u ions and, consequen ly, he powe s ha be.
Pea son’s chi-squa ed es s (χ2) indica e signi ican ela ions
be ween poli ical communica ion echniques and p opaganda
echniques (χ2=112.84; p<0.001). Howe e , and ega ding he
in e ac i i y a iable, no signi ican ela ion be ween his and he
p opaganda echniques a iable was ound (χ2=3.01; p=0.7).
No did Andalusian IG appea o be in e es ed in ideological
o poli ical s ance aking on Twi e /X (Figu e 6), o no poli ical
objec i e wha soe e was de ec ed in he con en o 94.7% o he
pos s. Chi-squa ed es s indica e signi ican ela ions be ween his
a iable and poli ical communica ion echniques (χ2=167.26; p
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TABLE 1 SNSs used by Andalusian IG ( equencies and pe cen ages).
Twi e /X Facebook/Me a Ins ag am LinkedIn YouTube O he SNS
IG egis e ed in he RTCE 25 (71.4%) 26 (74.2%) 12 (34.2%) 22 (62.8%) 17 (48.5%) 4 (11.4%)
IG egis e ed in he CNMC 16 (66%) 15 (62.5%) 7 (29%) 16 (66%) 9 (37.5%) –
FIGURE 3
Twee s pos ed by Andalusian IG on Twi e /X in 2023 (pe cen ages and equencies).
<0.001), as well as be ween he poli ical objec i e and p opaganda
echniques a iables (χ2=121.54; p<0.001). Al hough hey
use some poli ical communica ion and p opaganda echniques,
Andalusian IG ha e no in e es in engaging poli ical pa ies o
go e nmen s—a acking, de ending o aking a neu al s ance
owa d hem—in hei digi al communica ion. Only 2.9% o he
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FIGURE 4
Poli ical communica ion echniques used by Andalusian IG
(pe cen ages and equencies).
FIGURE 5
P opaganda echniques in IG wee s (pe cen ages and equencies).
messages analyzed (jus 11 wee s) had some ype o poli ical goal,
bu we e classi ied as unde e mined owing o he ac ha hey
we e e y ambiguous. The “a acking he na ional go e nmen ,”
“ e e ing o he Andalusian egional go e nmen in a neu al one,”
and “a acking he Andalusian egional go e nmen ” ca ego ies
had an i ele an p esence o 0.5% in each case. An example o
his is a wee pos ed on 28 Augus 2023 in which he Fede ación
Andaluza ENLACE (which wo ks wi h people wi h addic ions and
hose a isk o social exclusion) seconded ano he o ganiza ion
condemning he delays in o e ing people wi h addic ions suppo .
6 Discussion and conclusions
This s udy has analyzed he use o poli ical communica ion
and p opaganda by Andalusian in e es g oups, and cas ligh
on he ex en o which hey employ communica ion on social
media o g ass oo s lobbying pu poses. The Andalusian in e es
g oups o icially egis e ed in he CNMC and he RTCE a e
mainly companies and comme cial and business associa ions ( hus
answe ing RQ1). This implies ha he lobbying o hese g oups
is undamen ally comme cial and economic, a he expense o
ideological demands—and also o poli ical communica ion, as will
be seen below. This business-o ien ed app oach, mo eo e , is
consis en wi h he e idence sugges ing ha business in e es s a e
ep esen ed sligh ly mo e han non-business in e es s in lobbying
(De Figuei edo and Rich e , 2014), as well as wi h he in o ma ion
a ailable on he ypes o IG ac i e in he Eu opean Union,
including companies, ade unions, business associa ions, NGOs,
and p o essional associa ions (Dü and Ma eo, 2019). Ou s udy is
also in line wi h he indings o Almansa-Ma ínez and Cas ille o-
Os io (2020) indica ing ha he mos ep esen a i e ca ego y in he
RTCE includes “ he in-house p essu e g oups o companies and
comme cial, business, and p o essional associa ions.” Fu he mo e,
he ac ha he e a e mo e in e es g oups egis e ed in he RTCE
han in he CNMC is in keeping wi h he inc ease in he numbe
o egional g oups p esen in he Eu opean Union (Dü and Ma eo,
2019).
Ou indings also show ha hese Andalusian in e es g oups
use SNS in hei media ed communica ion o s a egic pu poses.
Indeed, hey use di e en SNS: Twi e /X, Me a, Ins ag am,
LinkedIn, and YouTube, among o he s. Howe e , his does no
mean ha hey did so sys ema ically. In ela ion o RQ2, he use
o Twi e /X by IG, in pa icula , was a guably inconsis en and
sloppy. Ba ing some excep ions, he as majo i y o o ganiza ions
did no pos equen wee s, e incing ha digi al public opinion
building is no among he main objec i es o g oups which a e
mainly o a business o comme cial na u e. As a ma e o ac ,
i is no coincidence ha he mos ac i e IG on X included
consume associa ion FACUA, associa ion Au ismo Se illa and
public ins i u ion Heal h and Consume Depa men o he
Andalusian egional go e nmen , ha is, non-p o i o ganiza ions.
The communica ion o Andalusian IG was cha ac e ized by
i s lack o in e ac ion: an i ele an 1.6% o he wee s ha hese
g oups pos ed on Twi e /X can be classi ied as in e ac i e, leading
o dialogue wi h hei audiences. This is ein o ced by he ac ha
e e ences o o he Twi e use s in hei pos s we e in equen .
Acco dingly, he answe o RQ3 is ha Andalusian in e es g oups
a e no making he mos o he oppo uni ies o e ed by SNS.
This ies in wi h he indings o o he s udies o he in e ac ion
o companies (Zele , 2021) and Spanish NGOs (Quin ana-Pujal e,
2020) on Facebook/Me a, whe e digi al communica ion ended
o be one-way. The same goes o in e ac ion in poli ical
communica ion, which has been widely s udied. Resea ch in his
espec has shown a e y poo use o he in e ac ion po en ial
o si es like Twi e /X by poli icians in gene al (Golbeck e al.,
2010;La sson and Moe, 2011;Mi e and Bode, 2015;Ve gee ,
2020) and in Spain in pa icula (Ramos-Se ano e al., 2018;
Pineda e al., 2022). The main heo e ical implica ion he e is
ha a Web 2.0 app like X can be used in a Web 1.0 con ex ,
whe eby “si es a e p edominan ly hie a chical and dissemina ing,
om he poli ician and pa y di ec ly o he ci izens” (Ve gee and
He mans, 2013, p. 400)— he same one-way pa e n can be de ec ed
in IG communica ion.
F on ie s in Poli ical Science 09 on ie sin.o g
