Le tweet stratégique: Use of Twitter as a PR tool by French politicians

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Le tweet stratégique: Use of Twitter as a PR tool by French politicians

Alexander Frame, Gilles Brachotte

To cite this version:

Alexander Frame, Gilles Brachotte. Le tweet stratégique: Use of Twitter as a PR tool by French politicians. Public Relations Review, Elsevier, 2015, Digital Publics, 41 (2), pp.278-287.

�10.1016/j.pubrev.2014.11.005�. �halshs-01236116�

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ContentslistsavailableatScienceDirect

Public Relations Review

Le tweet stratégique: Use of Twitter as a PR tool by French politicians

Alex Frame

^∗

, Gilles Brachotte

UniversityofBurgundy,BdGabriel,21000Dijon,France

a r t i c l e i n f o

Articlehistory:

Received29July2014

Receivedinrevisedform2November2014 Accepted10November2014

Keywords:

Communicationstrategy France

Imagemanagement PoliticalPR Socialmedia Twitter

a b s t r a c t

Thisstudy,adoptingaqualitativeapproachtopoliticalcommunication,looksindepth atthewayTwitterisusedasaPRtoolbyfiveFrenchpoliticians.Itsuggeststhatthe microbloggingserviceplaysaspecificroleinallowingthemtomonitorpublicopinion andcurrentaffairs,tointeractwithvoters,journalists,stakeholdersandotherpoliticians andtodisseminateinformation.ThewaypoliticiansuseTwitterisinfluencedbyconcerns ofimpressionmanagement(contentandstyleoftweets),andalsovariousinstitutional, politicalandsocial/symboliclimits,whichcontributetorevealtensionsbetweenthefield ofFrenchpoliticsandthewayithasshapedtraditionalpoliticalcommunicationpractises ontheonehand,andthetechnicalandsocialcharacteristicsassociatedwithTwitteron theother.Whilethesecharacteristicsmaybefactorsencouragingpoliticianstoadoptthe microbloggingplatformasaPRtool,theyalsoconstitutechallengesintermsofPR.

1. Introduction

Inthecourseofthepastﬁvetosixyears,TwitterhasrapidlyimposeditselfasoneofthemajordigitalPRtoolsusedby politiciansinmanycountriesaroundtheworld.Franceisnoexception,witharound60%ofFrenchMPsactiveonTwitter duringthelastthreemonthsof2013,accordingtoacommercialstudy(Baron,2014).¹TheFrenchgeneralpublichasbeen somewhatslowerinadoptingthesocialmediaplatform:thesamestudyestimatesthatsomewherearound10%ofthe Frenchpopulationcurrentlyuseit.YetTwitterisbecomingprogressivelymorewidely-knowninFrancetoo,partlythrough theinﬂuenceofpoliticiansandjournalistsasearlyadopters,andindeedthishasalsobeenthecaseinseveralothercountries (Grant,Moon,&BusbyGrant,2010).Twitterhasplayedaroleinseveralpoliticalscandalstakenupbythemainstream mediainFrance,suchasthecontroversialtweetsentbythecountry’sFirstLady,ValérieTrierweiler,duringthe2012French generalelectioncampaign(infra).

Today,thereisconsiderablepressureonpoliticiansinFrancetocreateaTwitteraccount(Brachotte&Frame,2011),yet thewaytheysubsequentlyusethetoolraisesmanyquestionsintermsofstrategicPRandimagemanagement.Indeed,PR specialistsarequicktostressthatTwittercanonlybeavaluabletoolifusedaspartofaglobalPRstrategy(Evans,Twomey,

&Talan,2011;Grunig,2009).HwangsuggeststhatstrategicuseofthetoolbyCEOscancontributetoimprovingperceptions ofleadershipandpositivelyinﬂuencetheimageofthecorporationstheyrepresent(Hwang,2012).Canleadingpolitical

∗ Correspondingauthor.

E-mailaddresses:aframe@u-bourgogne.fr(A.Frame),gilles.brachotte@u-bourgogne.fr(G.Brachotte).

1 AccordingtothestudycarriedoutbyReputationManagmentConsultancyAgencyAugure(www.augure.com)andpublishedinApril2014,346outof 577MPswerehadbeenactiveonTwitteratleastonceinthe30dayspriortothebeginningofthestudy.Afurther62“inactive”accountswererecorded, placingthetotalnumberofMPswithaccountsat408.

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figuresuseTwittertoobtainsimilargoals?Muchresearchcarriedoutintothekindsofinformationtweetedbypoliticians, invariouscountries,suggeststhatthetoolisoftenusedbypoliticiansprincipallyforself-promotion,inthetraditionaltop- downstyleofpoliticalcommunication(Grantetal.,2010;Larsson&Kalsnes,2014).Bycontrast,theplatformisonlyrarely usedtoexchangeinformation,debateorgiveinsightsintopoliticalprocesses(Golbeck,Grimes,&Rogers,2010;Lawless, 2012;Vergeer&Hermans,2013).However,someauthorspointhavefoundevidenceofdifferingstylesofTwitteruseamong politicians,dependingontheirprofile(Dang-Anh,Einspänner,&Thimm,2012;Jackson&Lilleker,2011;Sæbø,2011)and othershaveproposedevidenceofmaturingpatternsofusage(Grantetal.,2010)andoftheinfluenceofasmallpolitical elitewithinanationalTwittersphere(Ausserhofer&Maireder,2013).

Inmany countries,andnotably intheUKand US,Twitterhasbeenusedbypoliticianstos(t)imulate proximityby conveyingdetailsfromtheprivatesphere(Frame&Brachotte,2013;Frame,2012;Jackson&Lilleker,2009).Whilethishas beenanalysedascontributingtoabroadertrendtowardsthepersonalisationofpolitics(Stanyer,2013),itisinterestinglynot thecaseinFrance,whereastricterdivisionbetweenpublicandprivatecanbeobservedinpoliticalPRingeneral,including thatonsocialmedia(Brachotte&Frame,2011).Inthelightofthisobservation,furtherqualitativeresearchwascarriedout bytheauthorsinordertogaininsightsintothespeciﬁcwaysFrenchpoliticianswereusingTwitterasastrategicPRtool.

Thispaperdrawsontheresultsofthisqualitativeresearch,consistinginaseriesofﬁvesemi-directiveinterviewscon- ductedwithfemaleFrenchpoliticiansactiveonthenationallevel(MPsandsenators),includingcurrentandex-ministers fromacrossthepoliticalspectrum.²Thepoliticiansinterviewedwereencouragedtodiscussin-depththeirpersonalpractices andrepresentationsofTwitterasapoliticalPRtool,througharangeofquestionsincludingthefollowingtopics:motivation ofuse,modesofaccess,timespentreadingandwriting,proﬁleinformation,followers,bestpractises,evolutionsinusage, evolutionsinworkingpractises,individualvs.team-runaccounts,globalsocialmediastrategy,publicvs.privatespheres, limitsandresistance.Thepaperwilldrawonthedeclaredandobservedpractisesofthepoliticians,toanalysetheway TwitterisbeingusedasapoliticalPRtool.

2. Methodology

Forthepurposesofthisqualitativeresearch,politicianswereselectedonthebasisofseveralfactors:(a)thefactthey hadanactiveaccountonTwitter,(b)theirpoliticalproﬁleandrelativeimportanceontheFrenchnationalpoliticalscene, (c)theresearchers’capacitytoobtainacontactwiththemand(d)theirwillingnesstoparticipateinthestudy.Outofatotal oftwentypoliticianscontacted,ﬁveacceptedtobeinterviewed,inperson,bytelephoneorbySkype.Thesewere:

•IsabelleAttard:MPforCalvados(Normandy)forthe“EuropeEcologie–LesVerts”ecologistparty.³

•RoselyneBachelot:HealthandSportsMinisterandlaterMinisterforSocialAffairsunderthepresidencyofNicolasSarkozy.

PreviouslyMinisterforSocialCohesion,RoselyneBachelotendedher35-yearpoliticalcareerin2012,havinglostherseat inthegeneralelections,andresumedherpreviouscareerinjournalism.

•MichèleDelaunay:SocialistMPforGirondeandMinisterfortheElderlyunderthepresidencyofFranc¸oisHollandefrom May2012toMarch2014.⁴

•CatherineMorin-Desailly:Memberofthe“NewCentre”partyandSenatorfortheHauteNormandiearea.

•SaﬁaOtokoré:Vice-PresidentoftheRegionalCouncilofBurgundyandchiefcommunicationsadvisortoPierreMoscovici, MinisterofFinanceunderthepresidencyofFranc¸oisHollande.

TheinterviewswereconductedbetweenMay2013andJanuary2014,eachonelastingbetween30minandoneand aquarterhours.Transcriptsweresubsequentlysubmittedtotheintervieweesforvalidation.Table1resumesthemain characteristicsoftheinterviewees’Twitteraccountsonthedateoftheirrespectiveinterviews,includingvaryinglevelsof activityonTwitter(measuredinthenumberoftweetssentinthe30dayspriortotheinterview).⁵

DespitetheirvaryinglevelsofexperienceandactivityonTwitter,thepoliticiansinterviewedclearlydonotconstitutea representativesampleofthepopulationstudied,evenifthiswerelimitedtothe150femalemembersofparliament.However, theobjectiveofthisqualitativeresearchisnottoseektodescribeorcharacterisepractiseswithinthepopulationasawhole, butrathertogainin-depthinsightsintothewaysinwhichindividualpoliticiansseektomakeuseofthecommunication tool,theirrepresentationsofitandofthe“medialogic”(Schulz,2004)atwork.

2ThisresearchispartofawidereditorialprojectbeingcarriedoutbytheauthorsintotheuseofTwitterasacommunicationtoolbyfemalepoliticians andpoliticaljournalistsinFrance.Amongthepoliticiansselectedforinterviewedwererepresentativesofthegoverningleft-wingPartiSocialiste;the largeright-wingpartywhichhadgovernedFranceuntil2012underNicolasSarkozy,UnionpourunMouvementPopulaire;thesmallgroupofcentre-right formationsmakinguptheUnionpourlaDémocratieFranc¸aise;andtheecologist/GreenPartygrouprepresentedbyEuropeEcologie–LesVerts.

3InDecember2013,MsAttardresignedfromEELVtobecomeﬁrstservingMemberofParliamenttojointhenewleft-wingpoliticalformationnamed

“NouvelleDonne”.

4AsMinister,MichèleDelaunaysetupaspeciﬁcMinisterialTwitteraccount,runprincipallybyherteam.Theaccountincludedinthisstudyisher

“personal”account,setupbeforeshebecameMinisterandcontinuedafterwards.

5WritingtweetsisofcourseonlypartoftheactivityonTwitter,however,sincepoliticiansmayspendmuchmoretimereadingthanwritingtweets(cf.

infra).

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Table1

Interviewsconductedwithpoliticiansanddetailsoftheiraccounts.

Name,Twitterhandle Accountsince Dateofinterview Accounts followed

Followersof account

Tweets(total) Tweets(30 dayspriorto interview)

IsabelleAttard,@TeamIsaAttard 05/03/2012 21/01/2014 566 1789 4250 158

RoselyneBachelot,@RBachelot 22/02/2012 24/06/2013 253 43359 2064 75

MichèleDelaunay,@micheledelaunay 24/02/2011 30/01/2014 1419 19400 19800 498

CatherineMorin-Desailly,@C MorinDesailly 02/05/2011 20/01/2014 714 2552 2873 56

SaﬁaOtokore,@saﬁaotokore 30/04/2009 24/05/2013 1431 5764 8868 333

Fig.1.CorrespondencebetweenactivityonTwitterand3maincommunicationfunctions.

3. TwitterasastrategicPRtool

OneofthekeystounderstandingtheuseofTwitterbydifferentpoliticians–their“Twitterstyles”(Dang-Anhetal., 2012)–istotakeintoaccounttheiractivityontheplatform:timespentreadingandwritingtweets,whethertheaccount ismanagedaloneoralsobytheparliamentaryattachés.Amongthepoliticiansinterviewed,thepracticesreportedwere verydifferent.SafiaOtokoré,RoselyneBachelotandMichèleDelaunaydeclarethatmanagetheiraccountsentirelyontheir own.Atthetimeoftheinterview,MichèleDelaunayalsohadaministerialaccount(notincludedinthisstudy),managedby herteam,onwhichsheoccasionallyretweetedmessagesfromherpersonalaccount.IsabelleAttardandCatherineMorin- Desaillystatethattheirattachéscontributesomeofthe(morefactual)tweetspostedontheiraccounts,thoughbothclaimto writeover50%ofthetweetsthemselves.InthecaseofIsabelleAttard,thecollectiveauthorshipoftheaccountisidentified bothbyitsname(@TeamisaAttard)andthephotochosen,whichshowstheMPandherattachés,whoseinitialsaregivenin theprofiledescription.

Thepoliticiansalsovaryastothetimetheydeclaredevotingtoreadingandwritingtweets.Forallofthepoliticians questioned,theseactivitiesgenerallytakeplacein“quietmoments”:inthemorningortheevening,whentravelling,or whenattendinglongmeetings.IsabelleAttardandSaﬁaOtokorébothconsiderthattheyspendmostoftheirtimereading (IsabelleAttardestimatesthatthisrepresentsaround85%ofhertimespentontheplatform),whereasMichèleDelaunay andCatherineMorin-Desaillybothconsiderthattheyspendmoretimetweeting.Itshouldbenotedthisdistinctionistoa largeextentartiﬁcial,sinceinpracticeusersveryoftenretweetandcommentonothertweetstheyarereading.However, thewaytheindividualpoliticiansevaluatetheiractivityisinterestingintermsoftheirperceptionsofthetoolanditsuses.As Fig.1suggests,fromananalyticalpointofview,themajorfunctionsofTwitterasa(political)PRtoolcanberoughlydivided betweenmonitoring(mainlyreading),interacting(readingandwriting)anddisseminating(mainlywriting).Althoughthe interviewsandoverviewsofthetweetssentsuggestthatalloftheintervieweesexploitallofthesedifferentbasicfunctions tosomedegree,itisinterestingtonotethatperceptions(andpractices)vary.

OneofthemostimportantfunctionsofTwitter,accordingtothepoliticians,isitspotentialasamonitoringtool,tocapture inrealtimedominantpublicsentimenttowardsaparticularissuebeingdebatedonthesocialplatform.MichèleDelaunay andCatherineMorin-Desaillybothtalkabout“takingthetemperature”ofpublicopinion,whereasRoselyneBachelotsays thatthenetworkis“ausefulsoundingboard”.⁶IsabelleAttardtakesthislogicfurther,notjustusingTwittertoseewhatis beingsaidonacertaintopic,butinteractingwithherfollowersandseekingoutexpertsinaparticularﬁeldwhilesheisin parliamentorworkingonacommission,debatingorconductinginterviews,inordertohelpheraskrelevantandinformed questions:

6 MichèleDelaunay:“C’estuneprisedetempératuredel’opinionquiestagréableetrapide”.CatherineMorin-Desailly:“C’estuneprisedetempérature, uneambiance”.RoselyneBachelot:“[C’estun]réseaucaissederésonancetrèsutile”.

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Twitterhasgreatinteractivepotential.Forexample,whenI’minparliament,ordebatingwithsomeone,userscan saythingslike:“askhimwhyhedidn’tdosuchandsuchathing”.Itopensawindowofdialoguebetweenthose whoareinapositiontotakepartdirectlyinthedebate,likeme,andthosewhoaren’t.Italsohelpsmeﬁndrelevant argumentswhenI’minterviewingpeople,bytakingexpertadvice.Anditisthatdimensionofbeingintouchwith peoplewhoknowcertainthings(legaltexts,jurisprudence,etc.)whichhelpmebecomemoreefﬁcient,morerelevant inthecommentsImake.⁷

MonitoringtheactivityonTwitteralsocontributestowhatJacksonandLilleker(2011)deﬁneas“constituencyservice”:by followingrelevantaccounts,conversationsortopics,politiciansareabletoretweetandlinktoonlineresourceswhichhave signiﬁcanceforlocalconstituents.Thesameistrueconcerningthepoliticians’particularsubjectsofinterestorresponsibility withintheirrespectivepoliticalformations.Retweetsandhyperlinks,aswellascommentsandreactions,arewaysofshowing theyarepartofthedebate.

Ontheproductionside,thepoliticiansseethetoolasawaytodisseminateinformationquicklyandeffectively,“short- circuitingthetraditionalpressnetworks”,inIsabelleAttard’swords.“BypostinginformationonTwitter,youmultiplyitsimpact byten,bytwentyoronehundredfold”,⁸shesays.IfTwitterisindeedperceivedasaninstrumentfordirectcommunication withvoters(infra),politiciansalsoconsiderthatoneoftheirmaintargetsthroughthisplatformisjournalists,whocontinue toactasanimportantrelayfortheirmessages.SaﬁaOtokoréremarksthatTwitterisoftenusedbypoliticianstorefute statementspublicly,andthattheyareabletodosomuchmorequicklyandeasilythanbyusinganofﬁcialpressrelease.

TheyknowthatjournalistswillsystematicallychecktheirTwitteraccountforreactionswhenpreparingastory.

Itisparadoxicaltonote,however,followinginterviewswithapanelofpoliticaljournalists,thatalthoughthejournalistsdo indeedfollowpoliticians’accounts,theyonlytendtoreadthosetheydeeminterestingororiginal,ifany.Theydeclarethem- selvesmuchmoreinterestedinwhatotherjournalistshavetosaythaninstandardpoliticians’tweets,generallyperceived asfactualandboring.Indeed,itwouldappearthatpoliticiansarejustasdependentonjournalists’Twitteraccountsasthe opposite,ifnotmoreso.InhercapacityofchiefcommunicationsadvisortotheMinisterofFinance,SafiaOtokorésays thatshefollowedcertainjournalistswhomshehadidentifiedasusefulsources,andwouldchecktheiraccountsregularly, knowingthatifsensitiveinformationhadleakedfromtheFinanceMinistry,shewouldfindevidenceofitthere.Similarly, shewouldexpectanyimportantnewspaperarticlestobecommentedonTwitterbythesejournalists,andsoTwitterbecame herfirstportofcallwhenpreparingherministerialpressreview.“WhenIgetupinthemorning,IreadTwitterinsteadofthe AFP[AgenceFrancePresse]”,⁹shesays,thoughunderliningthatthisdidnotreplacehersubsequentlyreadingallofthemain newspaperspublishedthatmorning.Twittercanthusbeintegratedintopoliticians’(teams’)mediamonitoringstrategies, inordertoquicklyidentifymajorstoriesorspecialisedsubjectsbeingdiscussed.

AnothermajorcommunicativefunctionofTwitter,aimedatvotersingeneral,isthatofinformingabout,justifyingand explainingpoliticaldecisions.Inthisregard,bothIsabelleAttardandRoselyneBachelottalkaboutthechallengeofwriting clearlyandconciselyin140characters,whichRoselyneBachelotcomparestotheexerciseofthe“one-minutespeech”infront oftheEuropeanParliament.“ApositivethingaboutTwitteristhatitmakesyouthink”,shecomments,referringtothetoolas a“conceptualisationaid”.¹⁰IsabelleAttardnotesthatherparliamentaryattachésoftenﬁndmorepunchyformulationswhen retweetingherspeechesthantheydowhenpreparingtheoriginals.

However,itwouldbemisleadingtosuggestthatthemajorityoftweetswerecarefully-craftedcondensedsound-bites ofpoliticalwitandgenius.Mosttweetsconcernthepoliticians’everydayactivitieslinkedtotheirconstituencyortheir particularmandateorareaofinterest,andrefertovisits,eventsorimportantdecisionswhichhavebeenmade.Forherpart, SafiaOtokorémakesapointofusingTwittertoinformlocalvotersaboutdecisionsmadebehindcloseddoors,whenthese decisionsaregoingtobemadepublicandserveasafoundationforpolicy.TakingtheexampleoftheBurgundyRegional Council,shesaysthatmoreandmorespendingdecisionstendtobemadefarfromthepubliceye.Thesedecisionsareoften complexandhencetheirmotivationsliabletobeingmisconstruedbythepublic.Twitter,shesays,canbeahelpfultoolto explain,inrealtime,theperceivedstakeswhichmotivatedcertaindecisionsmade,tovoters(andjournalists)whowillnot haveimmediateaccesstotheminutesofthemeetingsinquestion.Sheaddsthattheplatformisawayofreachingyoung people,whowon’tgenerallyreadreportsorclassicalpoliticalinformation,butwhowillmostlikelyreadtweets.Inthis respect,findingtherightwordstoshareinformationinatimelytweetcanbeawayofinformingthedebateinthepublic sphere,aswellasawayofencouragingvoterstoacceptdifficultpoliticaldecisions.

7“Twitterpermetuneinteractivitéénormeetfabuleuseparexemple,quandjesuisàl’Assembléeouentraindedébattreavecquelqu’un,lestwittos peuventmedire‘demandez-luipourquoiiln’apasfaitc¸a’.C’estuneporteouverteàladiscussionentreceuxquipeuventintervenirendirectcommemoi etceuxquinelepeuventpas.Celapermetd’êtrepertinentefaceauxpersonnesquel’onauditionne,enayantlesconseilsdesexperts.C’estladimension decommunicationavecdesgensquisontaucourantdecertaineschoses,textesdelois,jurisprudenceetc....quivamerendreplusperformante,plus pertinentedansmespropos”.AlltranslationsintoEnglisharebytheauthorsofthispaper.

8“[Celas”appelleclairement]court-circuiterlesréseauxdepressetraditionnels.EnenvoyantsurTwitter,vousmultipliezpardix,vingtoucent,son impact.”

9“Lematin,quandjemelève,aulieudelirel’AFP,jelisTwitter”.

10“LecôtéheuristiquedeTwitterestensoiintéressant.[.C’est]unoutild’aideàlaconceptualisation”.

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3.1. Personalinteractions

However,Twitterisnotperceivedbythepoliticianssolelyasatoolfordisseminatingor“broadcasting”information.

Theinteractivefunctionisalsopresent,tosomedegree,onalloftheaccountsstudied,despitethefactthatstudiestendto showthatveryfewpoliticianstakethetimetointeractsystematicallywiththeirfollowersorwiththepeoplewhosend themmessages(Lawless,2012;Sæbø,2011).Themostproliﬁcuserinthestudy,MichèleDelaunay,saysthatshemakesa pointofalwaysreplyingtomessagesaddressedtoher–exceptwhentheyareinsulting–andthisisappreciatedbyher correspondants:“SometimesImeetpeoplewhotellme:“we’refriendsonTwitterandyourepliedtomytweet”.Itmarkspeople whenaministerrepliestotheminperson”.¹¹

Twitterisalsowidelyusedbypoliticianstointeractwithoneanother,whethertoassociatethemselveswith,lendsupport toordrawattentionto“positive”actions,oftencarriedoutbymembersoftheirpolitical“family”,ortocondemnorpoint theﬁngeratwordsordeedstheyjudgenegatively,usuallyassociatedwithmembersoftheoppositionparties.Thesefairly predictableandbanalinteractions,arguablyservenotsomuchtoswayminds,astocurryfavourwiththeexistingparty supporterswhorelaythem.However,aninterestingspin-offcanbeobservedintheformofwhatmightbetermed“live”

tweetsduringparliamentarydebatesintheAssembléeGénérale.IsabelleAttardremembersthesalutaryeffectofonesuch

“paralleldebate”duringtheparliamentarydebateonthebillproposingsame-sexmarriage,whenMPsinthemajoritywere instructednottoreactverballytoprovocativeoppositionstallingtactics:

Ithappenedduringthedebateaboutsame-sexmarriageintheAssemblée,whenmajorityMPshadbeentoldnotto speak,nottoreplyordebatesincethatgavetheoppositionmorespeakingtime.Butitwasprettyhardnottoreact towhatwewerehearing–itwasabigask.LuckilywecreatedaparalleldebateonTwitterthatgaveusasafetyvalve throughwhichwecouldletoffsteam.¹²

OnefinalinteractivefunctionofTwitter,thepossibilitytosenddirectmessages,hasalsoopenedupnewpossibilitiesfor politiciansinopposingpartiestointeractdiscreetly,accordingtotheinterviewees.Indeed,“DMs”provideanalternative communicationchanneltocomplementexistingones.Whereasemailmightbeseenastooofficial,andpoliticiansmightnot haveaccesstoanoppositionmember’smobilephonenumberorfeelabletosendthematextmessage,thendirectmessages onTwittercanconstituteamoreacceptableformofcommunication.“Ifapersonfollowsyou,itmeansthey’llacceptdirect messages”,¹³explainsSafiaOtokoré,addingthatsheherselfregularlyexchangeswithoppositionpartymembersthrough thischannel.

3.2. Impressionmanagement:cultivatingapoliticalpersonaonTwitter

Theappealofcommunicationbydirectmessagesbeingthatitescapesthepubliceye,itfollowsthatallothermessages sentonTwitterneedtobecompatiblewiththepolitician’spublicimage.Indeed,impressionmanagementisanessential partofthewaypoliticiansuseTwitter(Jackson&Lilleker,2011),andthisconcerns,asthesayinggoes,notjustwhatthey tweet,butthewaythattheytweetit.ThepoliticiansinterviewedseemedtoagreethatcommunicationonTwittershouldnot simplybeaboutannouncingpoliticalinformationinaﬂatorboringway.ForMichèleDelaunay,“Agoodtweetincludesabitof humour.Afterall,Twitterissomethingquitejolly,quitequick,excitingwitharecreationalsidetoit.Youputlittlecommentsthat youwouldn’tputonaverylongandserioustext.[It’sgot]afunside”.¹⁴However,shemakesadistinctionbetweenherpersonal accountandherministerialone:“Imakesurethattheofﬁcialaccountremainsasinformativeaspossibleaboutouractivities.

ItshouldacknowledgethepeopleImeetbyincludingaphoto,forexample.Itshouldsaypolitethings,anduselotsofpictures”.¹⁵ ForCatherineMorin-Desailly,includingphotosisalsoawayofillustratingherwork:“Iuselotsofimages,becauseIthinkmy followersliketoseewhereIamanditmakesthingsmorerealandconcrete”,¹⁶whereasforIsabelleAttarditisimportantto framecontentsinaninterestingway,withoutbeingoffensive:“It’sinformation,news,withabitofinsolenthumour,without hurtinganyone.Politicaldiscussionshouldremaindigniﬁed,aboveboard.Agoodtweetisoneyoudon’tregret”.¹⁷Whilegentle humouristhusoftenidentiﬁedasanappropriatetonefortheplatform,RoselyneBachelotwarnsthatTwitterusersareapt to(intentionally)misinterpretjokesandwordplay.AfteraparticularlyharshdefeatoftheFrenchrugbyteamatthehand

11 “Desfoisjerencontredesgensquimedisent“onestamissurTwitteretvousm’avezrépondu”.Etcelamarquelesgensqu’uneministreleurréponde personnellement”.

12 “Celas’estdéveloppélorsdudébatdumariagepourtousàl’Assembléeoùlaconsignepourlamajoritéétaitdenepasparler;denepasrépondre,dene pasdébattrecarcelaredonnaitdutempsdeparoleàl’opposition.Nepasréagiràcequel’onentendait,c’étaitquandmêmedélicat,c’étaitvraimentnous endemanderbeaucoup,heureusementparTwitter,onacrééundébatparallèle.Celapermettaitunesoupapedesécurité,deselâcher”.

13 “Silapersonnevoussuit,c’estqu’elleacceptelesDM”.

14 “Unbontweet,c’estunpeud’humour.Twitterestquandmêmequelquechosed’assezgai,d’assezrapide,pétillantavecuncôtérécréation.Onmetune petiteremarquequel’onnemettraitpassurungrandtextetrèssérieux.Uncôtéludique”.

15 “Surlecompteofﬁciel,lesconsignesquejedonnesontd’êtreaussiinformatifquepossiblesurnosactivités.Rendrehommageàceuxquel’onrencontrait, parexemplemettreunephoto.Mettredeschosescordiales,deplusenplusdephotos.”

16 “Jetweeteénormémentavecdesimages,carjepensequemesabonnéssontsensiblesàvoirdansquellesituationjemetrouveetpuisjetrouvequ’il fautralliercelaauréeletauconcret”.

17 “C’estdéjàl’information,l’actualité,avecunepetitepointed’humouretd’insolence,sansblessergratuitementetsansfaired’attaquesurlephysique.

Unediscussionpolitiqueenrestantdigne,droitdanssesbottes.Unbontweetc’estceluiquel’onneregrettepas”.

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oftheNewZealandAllBlacks,sheexpressedherdisappointmentinwhatshesawasahumorousway,bytweeting“Black isblack”,¹⁸onlytobesubsequentlyaccusedofracism.Shesaysshenowendeavourstokeepheruseofhumourwithinthe limitsofthe“politicallycorrect”.

Anotherimportantelementinconstructingthepoliticalpersonaistheproﬁlephotoanddescriptionchosenbythe politiciantopresenttheiraccount.UnlikeIsabelleAttard’s“team”photoandproﬁledescription(supra),theotherpoliticians haveallchosenwhatmightbedescribedas“dynamic-looking”selfportraits.Thisisself-consciouslythecaseofMichèle Delaunay,whoexplains:

ItisaphototakenatthesummeruniversityinLaRochelle–aphototakenwhiletweeting–IchoseitwhenIwasan MP,andwhenIbecameMinister,someonetoldme,“that’snotaveryministerialimage”.Ofcoursethatistrue,but Isaid“I’mMinsterfortheElderlyandIwanttoshowthatelderlypeopleareconnectedanddynamic”.SoIkeptit almostasachallenge.¹⁹

SaﬁaOtokoré’saccountexhibitswhatshedescribesasan“oldphoto”,chosentoexpresstheideathat“wecandoserious thingswithoutlookingseriousorstiff”.²⁰Sheexplainsthatsincesheisawoman,andblack,sinceshedoesnotcomefrom apoliticalfamilyanddoesnothaveanelectoralmandate,manypeoplerefusetogiveherlegitimacyinherpoliticalrole.

Inresponsetothis,herstrategyistorejectpretencesandshowherselfassheis,andTwitterhelpshertodothat:“ifyou wanttoknowwhoIam,youjustneedtolookatmyTwitteraccount”.²¹Sheusestheaccounttocommunicateindiscriminately withfriends,familyandcolleagues,insistingthatthisauthenticityisthekeytoherlegitimacyintheeyesofvoters,namely youngervoters,whoarelookingforsomeonewithwhomtheycanidentifyandinwhomtheycanbelieve.

Althoughnotnecessarilyforthesamereasons,SenatorCatherineMorin-Desaillyadoptsasimilardiscourse,whenasked forwhomshetweets.Authenticityandsimplicityareagainpresentedaskeyvaluesintheimagesheendeavourstoportray throughherTwitteraccount:

Ispeakinthesamewaytothedifferentcategories[offollowers].Itrytobemyself,thefemalepoliticianworkingon herparticularsubjectsandcontributingtomypoliticalgroup.Idon’taskmyselftoomanyquestionsandIdon’tgoin formarketingcommunication.InternetuserstakemeasIam,inmydiversefunctionsandroles.²²

Suchstrategiesof(controlled)“authenticity”indeedseemwell-suitedtotheInternetandTwitterinparticular,where trustisoftenbasedonperceivedtransparencyandcommunicationsuspectedofbeingcontrivedorincoherentrisksbeing scrutinisedanddenouncedbyusers.However,thesestrategiesappeartoreachcertainlimitswhenitcomestothequestion ofprivacy.

3.3. Public,personalandprivatespheres

UnlikeBritishandUSpoliticianswhomaychoosetoconstructanonlinepersonalinkedto“familyvalues”,byportraying themselvesintheroleofa“normal”mother,father,spouse,etc.(Jackson&Lilleker,2009;Frame,2012),theFrenchpoliticians interviewedwereallinovertagreementaboutthestrictnecessitytodissociatepublicandprivatespheres.Thisdistinction istobefoundattheheartoftheFrenchnotionofcitoyenneté,whichsupposesthatwhileallcitoyenshavearighttorespect theirownbeliefsinprivate,thesebeliefsmustnotimpingeonthewaytheybehaveorhowtheyexpecttobetreatedin public.TheprivatesphereisthusconsideredtobeoutsidethepoliticalarenaandconstitutesatabooinFrenchpolitical communicationwhichdoesnotexisttothesameextentintheEnglish-speakingworld(Brachotte&Frame,2011).

Alloftheinterviewedpoliticianswereadamantthatanythingtheydeﬁnedasstrictlyprivate/intimatewasoutofbounds andthatitwouldbeunacceptabletotweetaboutit.However,therewasnotastrictconsensusamongtheintervieweesasto wheretherealmoftheprivatesphereisconsideredtoend,and,furthermore,theyuseanintermediarydistinctionbetween

“private”and“personal”,asMichèleDelaunaypointsout:

Tomake[mytweets]abitmoreattractive,especiallyattheweekend,I’vealwayswrittenthingsaboutthebirdsin mygardenorthingswhicharebothprivatebutnotprivate,ImeanIneverspeakaboutpersonalthings,neverabout myhusband.Orratherit’spersonalbutnotprivate.Ioftenmakelittlepersonalcommentswhichareoutsidethe professionalﬁeld.²³

18“Noirc’estnoir”.Thisisalsoareferencetothetitleandchorusofawell-knownFrenchpopclassicbynationalidolJohnnyHallyday.

19“C’estuneimagedel’universitéd’étédeLaRochelle–onvalesphotographierentraindetweeter–jel’avaismisequandj’étaisdéputéetquandjesuis devenueministre,quelqu’unm’adit,“cen’estpasuneimageministérielle”,cequiestvraibienévidemment,maisj’aidit“jesuisministredespersonnes âgéesetjeveuxmontrerquelespersonnesâgéessontbranchées,sontdynamiques”.[.]Jel’aigardépresqueàtitrerevendicatif”.

20“Onpeutfairedeschosessérieusessansavoirl’airsérieuxoucoincé”.

21“Sionveutsavoirquijesuis,ilsufﬁtderegardermonTwitter”.

22“Jeparledemanièreindifférenciéeauxdifférentescategories[defollowers].J’essayed’êtremoi-même,lafemmepolitiquequitravaillesursessujets etquifaituninvestissementdanssafamillepolitique.Jenemeposepas36000questionsetjenefaispasdemarketingcommunicationnel.Moi,les internautesilsm’appréhendentdansladiversitédemesfonctionsetdemonrôle”.

23“J’aitoujoursmis,pourlerendreunpeuplusattrayant,enparticulierleweek-end,unepetitenotesurlesoiseauxdemonjardinoudeschosesàlafois privéeetpasprivée,c’est-à-direquejeneparlejamaisdechosespersonnelles,jeneparlejamaisdemonmari.C’estdupersonnelmaispasduprivé.Jefais biensouventdepetitesremarquespersonnellesquisortentduchampprofessionnel”.

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RoselyneBachelotmakesthesamedistinctionwhenshetalksaboutherpassionfortheopera,butsaysthatshewould neverdreamoftweetingaboutorexhibitingherselfinaphotographwithamalepartnerorchildren.These“personal”

subjectsarethusnotdirectlypolitical,buttheyseemdesignedtogivetheirpersonadepthoutsidethepoliticalarena,and inmanycasesmaybecharacterisedasorchestratedimagemanagement.AsMichèleDelaunaycomments,“I’mnotgoingto say‘I’vegottoothachethismorning’or‘myhusbandisapainintheneck”’.²⁴

Thepoliticianwhogoesfurthestinsharingwhatothersmightwellconstrueas“private”informationalsodissociates herselfunequivocallyfromAmericanorBritishexploitationoftheprivatesphere.IfSafiaOtokorésendspublictweetsto hersontotellhimthatsheloveshim,knowingfullwell,sheadds,thathewouldmuchrathershesentthisinformationin a(private)directmessage,shejustifiesthisaspartofherdesirefortransparencyonTwitter.Sheputsthesetweetsonthe samelevelaswritingaboutthingsshequalifiesas“intimate”,suchastweetingaversefromapoemsheappreciates.Yetshe veryfirmlydrawsthelineatthingsconcerningwhatshedefinesasher“privatelife”,circumscribedheretothepeoplewith whomshehasromanticrelationships.

Indeed,Otokoré’sstrategyonceagainappearsdifferenttothatoftheotherpoliticians.²⁵ Heruseofsocialmediais coherentwiththeidealoffreedomwhichshesaysmotivatesheruseofTwitter.BorninFrenchSomaliaandhavingmoved toFrancewithherex-husband,aprofessionalfootballer,Otokorésays,“Ittookmealongtimetogainmypersonalfreedom.

Twitterisanextensionofthatsamestruggle”.²⁶ShesaysthatsheprefersTwittertoFacebookbecauseitismoreopenand easy-to-use–everythingisaccessibletoeverybody;sheﬁndsiteasytoretweet,todiscovernewinformation,tocopyphotos andsoon,withouthavingtoﬁrstmake“friends”withotherusers.Sheusesthemicrobloggingplatformtoremainintouch withfamily,friendsandcolleaguesallovertheplanet,anddescribesitas“alifewithoutgeographicalboundaries”.²⁷

3.4. LimitsandrestrictionsontheuseofTwitter

Despitethe“freedom”identiﬁedherebyOtokoréandassociatedwiththetechnicalcapacitiesoftheplatformitself, politicians’useofTwitterasaPRtooldoescomeupagainstcertainlimits,whichcanbeinstitutional,political,legal,social orsymbolicinnature.Institutionally,MPsandministersinparticularareboundtorespectcertainformsofconﬁdentiality, andindeed,asMichèleDelaunayreports,

WhenIbecameMinister,theytoldus“thelessyoutweet,themorewe’llappreciateyou”.Andlotsofmycolleagues stoppedaltogether,andotherscutdownconsiderably.IcontinuedandwashappytohavepeoplelikeMarie-Arlette CarlottiorCécileDuflotsayingtome,“whenIsawyoukepttweeting,Istartedupagain”.Yousee,Ibrokethetaboo andonceagainitwasbecauseIwasprotectedbymystatusofMinisterfortheElderly.Iwasseenastryingtogive adynamicimage.[...]ThePrimeMinister’sOfficesometimescamedownheavilyonministers,especiallytobegin with,butIwasneverinthefiringline.²⁸

Althoughshecontinuedtotweet,MichèleDelaunaywasalwayscarefulaboutwhatshepostedandwhen,soas“notto compromisemyministerialfunction,bywritingsomethingwhichcouldreﬂectbadly,orreportingsomethingsaidduringa cabinetmeeting,whereweknowthateventhemostbanalcommentsmustnotberepeated:mypositioncommandstotal discretion”.²⁹

Politicalandeveneconomicconsiderationsalsocomeintoplay.SaﬁaOtokoréexplainsthatsheiscarefulwhentweets anythingrelatedtotheeconomy,sincesheisawareofthepotentialimpactthathertweetsastheFinanceMinister’shead ofcommunicationsmighthaveonthecountry’seconomy,viatheﬁnancialmarkets.WhereitislefttoMPs’discretionasto whatandwhentheytweet,differencesofopinionandpracticescansometimescausetensions,asIsabelleAttardreports:

Ireactedquitestrongly,withinmy[parliamentary]group,when,duringagroupmeeting,oneofmycolleaguessent atweetrevealingmypositiononaparticularvote.Ifounditunacceptablethatheshouldhavetweetedthatduring themeetingandclearlytoldhimtomindhisownbusiness,thathecouldtweetwhathelikedabouthimself,andthat IshouldbefreetochoosewhatItweetedaboutmyself.We’renottheretoinformononeanother.Myaimisnotto bantweeting,butthatpeopleshouldonlytweetinformationaboutthemselves.Thesemeetingsarequiteconﬁdential, andIdon’twanttoreceiveacallfromMediapart[apoliticalblog]saying,“ah,soyouvotedagainstthismeasure?”We haven’treceivedinstructionsonhowtouseTwitter,butseveralcolleagues,especiallyontheright,havebeentempted

24 “Jenevaispasdire“j’aimalauxdentscematin”,“monmariestcassebonbon”.

25 ItshouldalsoberememberedthatalthoughshewaschiefcommunicationadvisortotheMinisterofFinanceandVice-PresidentoftheBurgundy RegionalCouncil,SaﬁaOtokoréwastheonlypoliticianinterviewedwhohadnotbeenelectedtoanationalpoliticalmandate.

26 “J’aieudumalàavoirmalibertéindividuelle.Twitterc’estunprolongementdececombat-là”.

27 “C’estlaviesansfrontièresgéographiques”.

28 “Audébutdumandatdeministre,onnousadittrèsclairement:“Moinsvoustweeterezplusonvousaimera”.Etbeaucoupontarrêtédetweeteret d’autressesontfaittrèstrèsrares.Moi,j’aicontinuéetj’aieuleplaisirdevoirquedesgenscommeMarie-ArletteCarlottiouCécileDuﬂotmedisent“quand j’aivuquetucontinuais,jem’ysuisremise”.Vousvoyez,j’aibriséunpeuletabouetunefoisencore,parcequejesuisprotégéeparmonstatutdeministredes personnesâgées.Parcequ’onaperc¸umadémarchedevouloirdonneruneimagedynamique.[...].Leservicedecom’dupremierministreàquelquefois recadrésévèrementdesministres,audébutsurtout,etmoi,jen’aipaseudesoucis”.

29 “Nepasportertortàmafonctiondeministre,enmettantdesproposquinesontpasduniveauouenrapportantuneparolequiaétéprononcéeen ConseildesMinistresdontonsaitquemêmesiellessontanodines,ilnefautpaslesrapporterenoutrepassantlaréservequidoitêtrelamienne”.

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toregulateitsuse,proposingtobanitduringgovernmentquestiontime....Iﬁndthattotallyridiculoussinceit’sa publicsessionofparliament,notaprivateone:anyonecantweetaboutwhatissaidfrominfrontoftheirtelevision set.³⁰

Twitteralsocomesupagainstcertainmoreorlessclearly-identiﬁedlegallimitations,andindeedusersmayactively exploitthelegal“greyareas”itpresents.Inrecentyears,inFrance,Twitterhasbecomethemaintoolforusersseeking tocircumventthemediablanketbanonpublishingelectionresultsbefore8pmonElectionDay,notablywiththehashtag

#radiolondres(Mercier,2013).Inthiscontext,SaﬁaOtokoréalsopropelledherselfintothemedialimelightontheevening of6thMay2012,dateoftheFrenchpresidentialelection,bytweetingaphotographofprominentSocialistpartymembers celebratingaroundFranc¸oisHollande,almost90minutesbeforethe8pmwatershed.Sheclaimsthatshesentthetweet becauseitshowedpoliticiansdisplayingauthenticemotions,incontrastwiththeirusualrigidself-control,andthatthiswas animageshewantedtosharewiththepublic.Thesubsequentcontroversialattentionthatthetweetprovokedmeantthat italsoprovedtobeashrewdPRmove.

Asthepopularsayinggoes,“thereisnosuchthingasbadpublicity”.However,controversyisnotalwayspositive,evenfor politicians.Althoughnotstrictlyapoliticianherself,ValérieTrierweiler,whowasFranc¸oisHollande’spartnerin2012,and whothusfoundherselfcastintheroleofFirstLadyofFrance,sentaninfamoustweetduringtheparliamentaryelections, whichexplicitlyencouragedthedissidentSocialistPartycandidatewhojusthappenedtoberunningagainstHollande’sex- partner(andSocialistPartypresidentialcandidatein2007),SégolèneRoyal.Manywouldarguethattheensuingscandalwas damagingtotheimagesofbothHollandeandTrierweiler,andindeedthewould-bePremièreDamesubsequentlyfailedto winmuchpopularitywiththeFrenchpeople,duringthetimesheremainedwithFranc¸oisHollande.The“Trierweilertweet”

wasbutoneofaseriesofpolitical“gaffes”onTwitter.Thoughthepublicitymaybewelcomeattimes–sendingintentionally provocativetweetscanevenbeaworthwhilestrategy,notablyformembersofextremistand/oranti-establishmentpolitical formations–manypoliticianswhohavebeencaughtupinsuchcontroversyhavecometoregrettheirinopportunetweets.

MichèleDelaunayhasseveraltimessparkedoffindignantreactionsfromsmallgroupsofusersontheplatform,following whatshedescribesas“unfortunate”tweetswhich,sheclaims,wereinsufﬁcientlythoughtthroughonherpart,takenout ofcontextand/orvoluntarilymisconstrued.Insuchsituations,CatherineMorin-Desaillywarnsaboutthedangersofgetting caughtupinthewhirlwindwhichisthetempoofsocialnetworksgenerally,ofreactinginawaywhichisnotcompatible withthepolitician’srole.

Eventhough[Twitter]letsyoureactquicklyandbroadcastinformation,Ithinkitisimportantnottoactinhastebut rathertotaketimeforreﬂectionandpoliticalanalysis.Thepolitician’sroleshouldnotbetooverreactandtoﬁnd themselvesintheheatofthemoment,butrathertokeeptheirdistance,toanalyse,tothinkcritically.That’sthemajor riskassociatedwithsocialnetworks.It’simportantnottoletoneselfgetcaughtupintheirtemporality.³¹

Finally,scandalsprovokedbytweetscanservetohighlightthesocialandsymboliclimitsofTwitterasapoliticalPR tool.Thefactthattheyinvolveapublicﬁgureinevitablyaccentuatesandampliﬁestheimpactbutalsotheintensityof suchscandals,whichcanbeparticularlyviolentandinsultingtowardsthepoliticiansinvolved,asifthemerefactthatthey werewritingonTwittergavepeopletherighttoexpressthemselveswithnosocialconstraints.RoselyneBachelotdescribes Twitterasaparticularlyviolentmedium,andgrimlycommentsthatinherexperience“notallpeoplewhotweetareperverts, butallpervertsareonTwitter”.Feelingsofresentmentorfrustrateddisagreementamongmembersofthepublic,whichmight previouslyhavebeenvoicedonlyinfrontofthetelevisionsetoramongfriends,cannowbeposteddirectlytothepolitician’s Twitteraccount,wheretheymaygainsupportandcontributetotheuser’snotoriety,withvirtuallynoriskofrecrimination.

Bachelotregularlyreceivesattacksonherageandinsultsfromactivistsfromwithinherownparty,whobelieveshebetrayed thembyleavingpolitics.Similarly,SaﬁaOtokoréreportsreceivingracialandsexualinsults.

Ingeneral,femalepoliticiansareunfortunatelynostrangerstoinsults,yettheextremeviolencedenouncedherebythe intervieweesgoesbeyondwhattheymightencounteratthehandsoftheirmalecolleagues.AsIsabelleAttardcomments,

Twitterabolishesdifferences,removesbarriersbetweenelectedrepresentatives,ministersandpresidents.Everybody isequalsoweaddresswhoeverwewantand,iftheywantto,they’llreply.Exceptthatweshouldneverforgetwho

30“Moi,j’aieuuneréactionassezvirulente,auseindemongroupe,lorsd’uneréuniondegroupelemardimatin,de10h30à13h00,oùlàjen’aipas admisquependantcetemps-là,undemescollèguesenvoieuntweetendonnantmapositionsurtelvote,jeluiaiclairementdisqu’ils’occupedeses oignons,qu’iltweetecequ’ilveut,etmoijetweetecequejeveuxdecequimeconcerne.Onn’estpaslàpourfaireunpeusystèmededélation.Monobjectif n’estpasd’interdiredetweetermaisseulementlesinformationsquilesconcernent.Cesontdesmomentsassezconﬁdentielsetjeneveuxpasavoird’appel deMédiapartpourmedire,“ahbon,vousavezvotécontre”.Onn’arec¸uaucuneconsignesurl’utilisationdeTwitter,maiscertainsontététentésderéguler, certainscollèguesplutôtàdroite,ontproposél’interdictiondestweetspendantlesquestionsaugouvernement...c’estabsolumentridicule,carcen’est pasduprivémaisdupublicdoncrienn’empêchequequelqu’unquiregardelatélédetweeter”.

31“Siàlafoiscelapermetderéagirviteetdedonnerdel’information,jetrouvequ’ilnefautpasseprécipiteretilfautgarderletempsdureculetde l’analysepolitique.Lerôledupolitiquecen’estpasdesur-réagiretd’êtredansl’immédiatetémaisdansladistanciation,l’analyse,lerecul.C’estcelale risquemajeurdesréseauxsociaux.Eviterl’effervescence”.