What’s Up with WhatsApp? Social Media and Politics in the Global South

Session Submission Type: Full Paper Panel

Session Description

WhatsApp is the most popular social media platform in the world. In many developing countries, it is the primary source of information (political and otherwise) and an important tool for public service delivery for large swathes of society. Despite an abundance of journalistic and anecdotal accounts regarding its role in shaping political attitudes and behavior, there is limited academic research on this topic. This panel examines different ways in which WhatsApp features as an important medium for political communication in developing countries, spanning multiple country contexts and methodological approaches. Chauchard, Garimella, and Mello provide insights on the types of harmful political content that circulate on WhatsApp. Ventura, Majumdar, Liu, Torreblanca, and Tucker present results from experiments focused on measuring and reducing exposure to such content during contentious election periods. Asimovic, Munger, and Vasquez-Cortes investigate whether improved data access and information shared via WhatsApp can improve public service delivery outcomes for otherwise marginalized communities. Banerjee tests the effect of a WhatsApp-based informational intervention on intergroup trust and support for public goods in both ethnically homogeneous and ethnically heterogeneous settings.

Sub Unit

• Division 12: Comparative Politics of Developing Countries

Individual Presentations

• Hate Speech & Misinformation on WhatsApp: Insights from Data Donation Programs - Simon Chauchard, University Carlos 3 of Madrid; Kiran Kiran Garimella; Fernando Barros de Mello, Carlos III-Juan March Institute of Social Sciences

• The Effects of WhatsApp on Politics: Evidence from Deactivation Experiments - Tiago Augusto da Silva Ventura, Georgetown University; Rajeshwari Majumdar, Yale University; Shelley Liu, Duke University; Carolina Torreblanca, University of Pennsylvania; Joshua A. Tucker, New York University

• Data Access and Integration of Venezuelan Migrants in Colombia - Nejla Asimovic, Georgetown University; Kevin Munger, Pennsylvania State University; Mateo Vasquez Cortes, Instituto Tecnologico Autonomo de Mexico

• Love Thy Neighbor: Does Social Capital Explain Belief in Misinformation? - Sayan Banerjee, Texas Tech University

Chair

• Donald P. Green Columbia University

Discussants

• Natalia Salgado Bueno Emory University

• Jeremy Bowles University College London