JOURNAL OF APPLIED BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS
Estimating the Political Orientation of Twitter Users Using Network Embedding Algorithms
Author(s): Morteza Shahrezaye, Miriam Meckel, Simon Hegelich
Citation: Morteza Shahrezaye, Miriam Meckel, Simon Hegelich, (2020) "Estimating the Political Orientation of Twitter Users Using Network Embedding Algorithms," Journal of Applied Business and Economics, Vol. 22, Iss.14, pp. 53-62
Article Type: Research paper
Publisher: North American Business Press
Abstract:
Estimating the political orientation of citizens has always been a crucial task in communication as well as political science studies. In this study, advanced network analysis tools are developed to tackle this task. Specifically, using network embedding algorithms, friendship networks are embedded into lowerdimensional Euclidean space while preserving specific topological features of social networks. The resulting embedded vectors are then used to estimate political orientation of Twitter users. It is also shown that these numerical representations can be used to estimate other user traits. The developed tools are applied to a benchmark dataset as well as a dataset developed by the authors. Our model decreased the mean absolute error of the state-of-the-art predictions on the benchmark income dataset by 15%. The developed tools have multiple use cases, for example, studying echo chambers and political communication on OSNs and in marketing campaigns to estimate user’s preferences.