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The legitimacy and moral responsibility of social media political influencers

Seran, Paschalis (2024) The legitimacy and moral responsibility of social media political influencers.

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Abstract:The use of social media as a communication and marketing tool has contributed to the upsurge of social media content creators who endorse social and political agendas, which are called social media political influencers (SMPIs). This thesis mainly examines how SMPIs can responsibly influence people. To address those questions, this thesis employs a conceptual analysis by clarifying and relating what influencers are, the legitimacy of political authority, and moral responsibility. By considering the idea of SMIs in marketing, I define SMPIs as social media content creators who endorse social and political agendas to influence people. People listen to them because they are perceived as authentic, knowledgeable, attractive, trustworthy, and credible. As they exercise their power in the political arena, I discover that some SMPIs are legitimate political authorities, and some are effective authorities. As the first one is subject to legal law, my concern is the latter, which must attribute some moral responsibility to the fact that they may responsibly influence people. Considering some types of moral responsibility, this thesis advocates moral responsibility as a virtue where being responsible, particularly in exercising and mobilizing political power through social media, should be upheld through caring for others.
Item Type:Essay (Master)
Faculty:BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences
Subject:08 philosophy, 89 political science
Programme:Philosophy of Science, Technology and Society MSc (60024)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/103080
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