We looked at the last six months of tweets containing the various #Never<candidate> hashtags, limited to the eight Democratic candidates still in the race. #NeverBernie was the most frequently used, followed by #NeverWarren, #NeverBiden, and #NeverPete.
cc: @ZellaQuixote
cc: @ZellaQuixote
@ZellaQuixote Usage of #Never<Candidate> hashtags increased sharply in the opening weeks of 2020. #NeverWarren, #NeverBernie, and #NeverBloomberg have each experienced boosts or spikes in volume tied to specific events during that time (further info in figure.)
@ZellaQuixote Who's using the #Never<candidate> hashtags? The retweet network for recent tweets is comprised mostly of obscure accounts (not candidates/journalists etc) and breaks down into 3 clusters:
• right-wing accounts
• pro-Sanders left-wing accounts
• anti-Sanders left-wing accounts
• right-wing accounts
• pro-Sanders left-wing accounts
• anti-Sanders left-wing accounts
@ZellaQuixote These three distinct groups are reflected in the hashtags used in the profiles of the accounts tweeting the #Never<candidate> hashtags. #NeverTulsi/#NeverGabbard is an interesting outlier in that it appears to be the only one not being used regularly by right-wing accounts.
@ZellaQuixote What other hashtags are used in the same tweets as #Never<candidate> hashtags? Mostly, other #Never<candidate> hashtags and hashtags supporting alternate candidates. Additionally, #StopAndFrisk frequently accompanies #NeverBloomberg, and #RussianAsset with #NeverTulsi.
