University of Twente Student Theses
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Empathy or Outrage? : Framing and Tone in Abortion Discourse on X During the 2024 Election
Mortimer, Jasmine (2025) Empathy or Outrage? : Framing and Tone in Abortion Discourse on X During the 2024 Election.
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| Abstract: | Social media has transformed how political messages are crafted, facilitated, and disseminated to the public. Recent research has shifted focus to how new media can influence public opinion, specifically in environments of high polarisation such as the United States. Following the ‘Dobbs v. Jackson’s ruling, abortion policy on X (formerly Twitter) has shifted into an emotionally charged battleground, offering a unique opportunity to explore how political actors use rhetorical strategies. This thesis investigates how presidential candidates, affiliated organisations, and political influencers use frames and tones in their tweets regarding abortion during the 2024 U.S. presidential election. Using a qualitative content analysis of 999 tweets (n = 333 per actor type), and a codebook across nine frames and eight tones developed through deductive and inductive methods. The findings reveal that frame and tone choices systematically align with actor identity and their communicative goals. Moreover, sentiment analysis and chi-square testing validate that these rhetorical strategies are not randomly applied but systematically applied. The findings reveal that frame and tone choices systematically align with actor identity and communicative goals. Additional sentiment analysis and chi-square testing confirmed that these rhetorical strategies are not randomly applied but strategically constructed. Ultimately, this thesis contributes to the growing framework of framing (Entman, 1993), tone (Pipal et al., 2024), and Affective political communication (Papacharissi, 2024) highlights the emotional dimension of framing and tone within political digital discourse. |
| Item Type: | Essay (Bachelor) |
| Faculty: | BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences |
| Subject: | 89 political science |
| Programme: | Communication Science BSc (56615) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/107034 |
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