New media, politics as usual in the 2014 Ecuadorian elections

Abstract

Do digital media contribute to narrowing the increasing political gap between citizens and politicians? This paper suggests that the gap could decrease if politicians were able to create a “narrative” based on both the production of content (political discourse) and the promotion of digital dialogue (interaction). To test this argument, the paper analyzes the use of Twitter by eight Ecuadorian political leaders during the 2014 subnational election campaign. It concludes that Twitter reproduces the classic forms of communication and therefore fails to attract either citizens or the media.