Abstract

MORALES, Julián Atilano. Emergence, Self-Perception, and Participation of the Opinion Leader in the Digital Space. Rev. mex. opinión pública [online]. 2021, n.30, pp.93-111.  Epub Apr 21, 2021. ISSN 2448-4911.  https://doi.org/10.22201/fcpys.24484911e.2021.30.70568.

Classic studies on electoral sociology have presented evidence of the influence of the opinion leader on electoral preferences. However, research that has observed this phenomenon in the digital space is still scarce and very general. For this reason, the objective of this article is to show how the construction of the opinion leader is fostered in the digital space, how is the self-perception that he or she has about himself or herself configured, and what are the mechanisms that are used to persuade. The research method is the case study and the main technique is the semi-structured interview. The unit of analysis are people over 18 years old, who have voted and promoted the vote in favor of Jaime Rodríguez “El Bronco”, Enrique Alfaro or Pedro Kumamoto in the 2015 election in Mexico. It is concluded that the digital space provides resources for the opinion leader to build and perceive himself or herself with the capacity to influence among his o her networks of contacts, through the legitimacy they give him or give her, and to be able to articulate a repertoire of action to persuade.

Keywords : Opinion leader; social network; social interaction; electoral behavior; Facebook 2015; elections.

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