The far right, champion of social networks in Spain "Diario La Capitale de Mar del Plata

MADRID, Spain, – As American Donald Trump or French Marine Le Pen, the far right party Vox dominates social networks ahead of Sunday 's debates in Spain, according to data consulted by the US. AFP.

Vox, which ranks fifth among polls, is the network leader, with 33% of all interactions (liked, shared or commented posts) from the top five parties last month, followed by a 24% for the radical left of Podemos, according to the Social Elephants tool, accessed by AFP.

With ultranationalist messages, against illegal immigration or the defense of the traditional family, interspersed with videos of their leader, Santiago Abascal, on horseback or in the rain in a picturesque place of Spain, the training provokes the Enthusiasm or furious criticism in the networks.

"They woke up the beast," applauded a user who responded on Thursday to a tweet containing a video of Abascal announcing the end of a "dictatorship program" in Spain in last Sunday's elections, while Vox was expecting a strong exit from the first Congress of Deputies.

"Momento Facha of Santiago Abascal Will We Return to the Inquisition of National Catholicism?", Criticized a surfer. "What fear they give".

Without great exposure in traditional media, Vox chose "a strategy of direct communication through social networks, through mbad events," Abascal said.

"This has been a successful key, (…) as in other parts of the world," he told COPE Radio on Wednesday.
With marginal support until a year ago, Vox could get about 350 MPs according to polls, but badysts warn that there could be many more, because of the hidden vote of those who hide their preference for pollsters.

Let them talk, even if it's wrong

"A party that has no visibility in traditional media or any representation in institutions, what matters is that people talk about it, even if it's wrong," says Rubén Durante , from the Catalan Institute for Research and Studies. Advanced (ICREA).

"These controversial arguments attract attention and eventually prevail because critics are not people who would vote for them," said expert social networking and democracy.

On Twitter, the social network that sparks the most debate in Spain in this campaign, Vox performed 1.1 million interactions last month, against 886,000 on Podemos, a very active networking training.

They are also more than double that of the Socialists (551,000), Liberals of the citizens (499,000) and Conservatives of the People's Party (419,000), according to Social Elephants.

In addition, Vox maximizes his messages on the social network, since he is a leader who has sent over the last month an average of eleven per day, against 27 at Podemos, or 50 among the most prolific citizens.

All this despite having many followers on Twitter: 240 000, against 1.37 million Podemos, 705 000 PP, 670 000 socialists and 518 000 citizens.

Activate the demobilized

A Vox, and the other parties, explains During, the networks allow you to "target": identify their potential voters and send their message directly.

"If you are Vox, you can identify people who are not going to vote or who are not demobilized with specific interests, such as hunting (…) and target them so that one euro spent more effectively, "an appeal for training with limited resources, says During.

"This is well done by Vox, by Marine Le Pen in France, by the Five Star Movement in Italy, (…) Donald Trump did it in the United States," he says.

In fact, Vox has had contacts since 2017 with Donald Trump's exguru, Steve Bannon, who has just made known the newspaper El País.

"This is a problem that arises throughout Europe, where people are unhappy with traditional parties and where the internet has given them a hand," says Durante.

In addition, messages from networks or WhatsApp, another popular tool in Spain, are more interesting because they are shared with relatives or friends.

"It's a key element because in a climate of trust, you give them a lot more credibility," says Silvia Martínez, expert in networks and social campaigns at the Open University of Catalonia.

So, for example, Vox announces some videos in the form of images that do not want you to see them and asks to share them mbadively.

AFP-NA