Digital Diplomacy in the 21st Century: A Comparative Analysis of X and FACEBOOK in Foreign Policy

Abstract

Digital communication technologies have revolutionized foreign policy through very significant developments in recent times, including the introduction of social media platforms like Twitter (now X), and Facebook. Social media have taken center stage in the field of statecraft through which governments can engage in direct communication with foreign audiences and pursue their policies and interests. This paper examines the application of social media as tools for state foreign policy in terms of their value as instruments for public diplomacy, as platforms for strategic communication, as a way to signal and as instruments of information warfare. Through literature review and case-studies from the peer reviewed literature and relevant policy documents from 2018 to 2025, it is demonstrated that the nature of diplomacy has undergone a transformation from elite-driven and secretive to networked and open because of the use of social media. This transformation is fraught with problems of false information and governance, though.