Pursuing Change or Pursuing Credit? Litigation and Credit Claiming on Social Media

Anna Gunderson; Kirsten Widner; Maggie Macdonald

doi:10.1017/jlc.2022.16

Pursuing Change or Pursuing Credit? Litigation and Credit Claiming on Social Media

Anna Gunderson, Kirsten Widner, Maggie Macdonald

Political Science

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

Interest groups often post about their judicial advocacy on social media. We argue that they do so for two main reasons. First, providing information about the courts on social media builds the group's credibility as a source of information with policymakers, media and the public. Second, social media provides a way to claim credit for litigation activity and outcomes, which can increase membership and aid in fundraising. Using original datasets of millions of tweets and Facebook posts by interest groups, we provide evidence that interest groups use social media for public education and to credit claim for their litigation activity.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	87-109
Number of pages	23
Journal	Journal of Law and Courts
Volume	12
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1017/jlc.2022.16
State	Published - Apr 14 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Law and Courts Organized Section of the American Political Science Association.

Keywords

amicus briefs
interest groups
judicial advocacy
social media

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Sociology and Political Science
Political Science and International Relations
Law

Access to Document

10.1017/jlc.2022.16

Cite this

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abstract = "Interest groups often post about their judicial advocacy on social media. We argue that they do so for two main reasons. First, providing information about the courts on social media builds the group's credibility as a source of information with policymakers, media and the public. Second, social media provides a way to claim credit for litigation activity and outcomes, which can increase membership and aid in fundraising. Using original datasets of millions of tweets and Facebook posts by interest groups, we provide evidence that interest groups use social media for public education and to credit claim for their litigation activity.",

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N2 - Interest groups often post about their judicial advocacy on social media. We argue that they do so for two main reasons. First, providing information about the courts on social media builds the group's credibility as a source of information with policymakers, media and the public. Second, social media provides a way to claim credit for litigation activity and outcomes, which can increase membership and aid in fundraising. Using original datasets of millions of tweets and Facebook posts by interest groups, we provide evidence that interest groups use social media for public education and to credit claim for their litigation activity.

AB - Interest groups often post about their judicial advocacy on social media. We argue that they do so for two main reasons. First, providing information about the courts on social media builds the group's credibility as a source of information with policymakers, media and the public. Second, social media provides a way to claim credit for litigation activity and outcomes, which can increase membership and aid in fundraising. Using original datasets of millions of tweets and Facebook posts by interest groups, we provide evidence that interest groups use social media for public education and to credit claim for their litigation activity.

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Pursuing Change or Pursuing Credit? Litigation and Credit Claiming on Social Media

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Access to Document

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