The making of a captain: The production and projection of a political image on the Tony Abbott Facebook page
Year: 2016
Type: article
Abstract: Literature on politicians’ use of social media tends to concentrate on election campaigns rather than on their everyday use. In examining the construction of ‘Facebook Tony Abbott’ (an Australian conservative federal politician and ex-Prime Minister), this paper examines how his image uploads with five main themes: military, heterosexual family, statesmanship, athleticism and activeness assembled a broader political persona. These images serve to promote such mythic campaign image categories as the Ideal Leader and Popular Candidate, revealing the page’s permanent political campaign focus. Thus any insight the page could provide into the everyday political life of Tony Abbott was severely limited.
Author: Edward Hurcombe
Language: English
Topic: Social Media and Politics
Subfield: Communication
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2502297755