This study examined how Twitter/X users engaged in the political discourse on the Sewol ferry accident in South Korea. We used a triangulation method by combining a social networks approach with quantitative content analysis. A comparison of the number of links across politically homogeneous clusters with the number of links across heterogeneous clusters revealed that selective exposure occurred on the Twitter topic network. Findings also showed the greater role of independent journalists armed with social media in disseminating information online. Our content analysis indicated that the tragic accident divided the public into two sides over the issue and that the public sentiment was dependent on the political orientations of the clusters within the network. The implications of these findings were discussed for scholars who aim to address the problems rooted in a polarized society.
Hwang et al. (Tue,) studied this question.