Corbyn social media sentiment polarises as media attacks mount
Newly installed Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s abrasive relationship with the press is well documented with no love lost between the veteran left winger and Fleet Street’s finest, prompting Corbynites to adopt a social media first strategy.
That approach might be having some success as despite a torrent of negative publicity since his election - some 80 per cent of traditional news coverage has presented the Labour leader in an unflattering light according to data from global media intelligence solutions firm, Meltwater - on social media a rather different story is emerging.
Opinion here is far more polarised with individuals almost evenly split between those positive about Corbyn (52 per cent) and those who are rather more wary of his impact on British politics (47 per cent). Very few are indifferent it seems.
Heidi Myers, marketing & communications for EMEA at Meltwater, commented: “The Labour party has spent twenty years adjusting perceptions and making sure that the New Labour brand stands for something. The split reaction across social media channels about the election of Jeremy Corbyn enables us to predict that a shift in opinion may be on the horizon.”
Corbyn’s leadership has had a stuttering start after pulling out of a high profile broadcast interview on the Andrew Marr Show at the last minute, choosing to attend a charity engagement in Islington instead, evidence of a strategy which places priority on non-traditional means of communication with the public.