• International Journal of Internet, Broadcasting and Communication
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.25-30
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• 2016

User-generated content (UGC) satirizing the presidential candidates was widespread during the 2016 election in Taiwan. Using an experimental design, this study explored the predictors of viewer agreement to satirical UGC, and its influence on viewer attitudes towards candidates after watching the satirical videos from YouTube. Results showed that participants' agreement with the satirical UGC was predicted by their political cynicism and political information efficacy, but not by candidate favorability. Watching the UGC satirizing the presidential candidates effected the favorability toward the male candidates but not the female candidate. In addition, the evidence suggested that the frequency of exposure to satirical UGC is related to political information efficacy, but not with political cynicism or candidate favorability.

• Korean journal of communication and information
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• v.44
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• pp.108-143
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• 2008

Candidate images refer to a holistic impression of a candidate which is composed of various dimensions of attributes. This study investigated how online and offline news media, campaign media such as political ads, televised debates, and candidate web-sites, and interpersonal political talk influenced voters' images of a candidate in such dimensions as personal traits, job-performance abilities, and policy capabilities, and further their political decision making in the 17th presidential election in Korea. The analysis focused on President Lee, Myung Bak who won the election by obtaining nearly 50% of the effective votes. According to the data analyses, first, uses of offline newspapers positively influenced voters' images of candidate Lee's personal traits such as his morality, integrity, trustworthiness, and compassion, yet online news uses had an opposite effect on voters' impression of his job-performance and economic policy capabilities. Secondly, among various campaign media, television ads and candidate web-sites positively contributed to the formation of candidate Lee's images, yet showed little direct effect on vote choice, indicating that campaign media mainly indirectly influenced voters' political decision making. Each of the first, second, and third televised candidate debates revealed unique effects on image formation and vote choice. Thirdly, the network size and frequency of political talk negatively influenced image formation regarding candidate Lee's personal traits and economic policy capabilities, yet the discussion network size positively contributed to the Lee votes. Forth, among various dimensions of candidate images, voters' perceptions of candidate Lee's personal traits appeared to be the most significant predictor of the support for him.