The importance of self-reference in argumentation on Twitter: a comparison of politicians and experts in the covid-19 crisis

De Cock, Barbara;van Laar, Jan Albert
(2021) Citizens, experts and institutions: empirical analysis of public policy argumentation — Location: Louvain-la-Neuve (en ligne) (13.January.2021)

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Abstract
In this talk, we look into how Belgian, Dutch and Spanish politicians and experts involved in the covid-19 crisis construct self-reference on Twitter and on how this self-reference ties in with the ways they explain or justify the positions they adopt. In the first place, we analyze how these persons construct their self-reference on Twitter, taking into account the different affordances of Twitter, such as the content of tweets and of the biography. We also focus on whether these persons construct an explicit self-reference through 1st person forms or rather avoid such explicit self-reference. In the second place, we analyze how the communicative functions of this self-reference connect to the argumentation developed, or prepared, in the tweets. Indeed, self-reference contributes to self-introduction, and to the creation of a public persona. Through a comparison of politicians and scientific experts, we will to show the specific roles that self-reference hold in the discourse of each group. We expect self-reference to be more important in politicians’ discourse, for the reason that when arguing, politicians face more problems when polishing their public persona, or when trying to keep it intact, than experts do.
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De Cock, B., & van Laar, J. A. (2021). The importance of self-reference in argumentation on Twitter: a comparison of politicians and experts in the covid-19 crisis. Citizens, experts and institutions: empirical analysis of public policy argumentation, Louvain-la-Neuve (en ligne). https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/119529