Rachel Gibson

Humanities Lecturer at Manchester University

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A tale of three tribes: UK MPs, Twitter and the EU Referendum campaign

Liam McCloughlin, Stephen Ward, Rachel Gibson & Rosalynd Southern. https://doi.org/10.3233/IP-190140.  This paper examines the structure of Twitter communication networks between MPs during the 2016 EU Referendum campaign. In particular, the research examines the impact of Twitter in two dimensions: (1) how far social media might facilitate inter-party linkages thus eroding traditional … [Read more...]

Scientific and subversive: The two faces of the fourth era of political campaigning

Andrea Römmele and Rachel Gibson https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444819893979 This article sets out the case that democracies are now entering a fourth phase of “data-driven” political campaigning. Building on the existing campaigns literature, we identify several key shifts in practice that define the new phase, namely: (1) an organizational and strategic dependency on digital technology and “big … [Read more...]

When the Nerds Go Marching In: How Digital Technology Moved from the Margins to the Mainstream of Political Campaigns

When the Nerds Go Marching In shows how digital technology has moved from the margins to the mainstream of campaign and election organization in contemporary democracies. Combining an extensive review of existing literature and comparative data sources with original survey evidence and web content analysis of digital campaign content across four nations—the United Kingdom, Australia, France, and … [Read more...]

I am a Professor of Politics at the University of Manchester and my research focuses on how digital technologies are changing the way in which election campaigns are fought and won. My work is comparative in nature with a particular focus on developments in the UK, the U.S., Germany, Australia and France. I have published a wide range of articles and books on this topic, many of which are listed on this site, so please feel free to browse through. I am currently directing a five year study of Digital Campaigning and Electoral Democracy (DiCED) funded by the European Research Council and I am one of the Principal Investigators of the Norface project examining the impact of Data-Driven Campaigning. I have previously been a Principal Investigator of the Australian Election Study since 2001 and co-directed the internet component of the British Election Study (iBES) in 2015. Outside work I enjoy the delights of country living, dog walking and the odd spot of hill running in North Wales.

 

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