Competing for attention on Twitter during the 2012 and 2016 U.S. presidential debates

This study explores how Presidential candidates compete for Twitter attention during a televised debate using two datasets of tweets posted during the first 2012 and 2016 U.S. Presidential debates. Using a time series analysis, we find that both debates exhibited zero-sum attention dynamics such that when one candidate gained attention, the other lost attention. However, our error correction models also revealed that the attention dynamics of Romney and Obama in 2012 produced an equilibrium that neither candidate could break from, whereas in 2016, Twitter attention to Trump overwhelmed Clinton. We therefore conclude that social media attention competition in during the 2012 U.S. presidential debate was more tightly contested compared to 2016.