Hashtag Politics and Voter Mobilization: Comparative Study of Official X Activity by Pakistan’s Leading Parties During the 2024 General Election Campaign Period

Abstract

The study examines the role of hashtags in voter mobilization in Pakistan’s 2024 general elections campaigns. Focusing on the Social media platform X(Twitter), the research analyzes the official accounts of Pakistani political actors on Twitter, such as Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf(PTI), Pakistan Muslim League-N(PML-N), and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). The research uses the quantitative content analyses of the political posts shared on the official political parties' Twitter page and their frequency of posting content during the election period of 2024 from 2^nd Feb to 8^th Feb, including the polling day. A total of 320 posts were analyzed to identify the pattern of hashtag usage to prompt their campaign on social media, the engagement level they received, and the political messaging.

The findings reveal that hashtags play a significant role in content visibility, and political actor use this advantage in their campaigns. Because now people are the active users of social media as compared to before, they react to the posts and show their interests, and these engagement metrics help political actors to connect with the voters, show their activities, and tell them about their new political policies, and get support, and can strengthen their influence on them and change their perception about them through their online campaigns.