Unveiling evolving nationalistic discourses on social media: a cross-year analysis in pandemic

The global pandemic has dramatically reshaped public discourse, with social media emerging as a pivotal platform for these discussions. This study delves into evolving sentiments, emotions, and prevalent topics in online discussions spanning the years 2020, 2021, and 2022, drawing from a dataset of 2.65 million tweets from the Twitter Platform. A multifaceted approach that combines quantitative and qualitative methods are developed for dissecting evolving discourses, with a particular focus on the lens of nationalism. The quantitative part disassembling sentiment & emotion, topics, and Co-Occurrence Network yields a nuanced understanding of the textual content. A qualitative theoretical analysis named Evolving Discourse Framework Analysis are designed to unravel the textual discourse. Study results in the development of an adaptable framework. Findings expose nationalist orientations and the framing elements present within online public discourse, which are categorized into three distinct frames: ‘feeling,’ ‘identity,’ and ‘action.’ Importantly, the ‘feeling’ frame interconnects with the ‘identity’ frame, ultimately shaping responses within the ‘action’ frame. The frames shine a light on a complex and interconnected web of nationalist narratives that exist within the online sphere, subtly influencing public opinion and behavior. This study serves as a reminder that beneath the surface of seemingly unified global discourse, there exists a segmented world, ripe for further exploration and understanding.

Xiao-Kun Wu, Gang Gu, Tian-Tian Xie, Tian-Fang Zhao, Chao Min