Twitter gives lawmakers easy access to the media.
Keystone
Twitter boasts over 300 million users worldwide but a communications specialist says in Switzerland only 16% of the population has embraced the microblogging service.
This content was published on
1 minute
ATS-SDA/ds
“It is an elitist network used mainly by politicians and journalists,” said social networks expert Julia Metag in a report published by the Swiss News Agency on Sunday.
“Unlike the United States, where a large part of the population is on Twitter, only 16% of the Swiss have an account,” added the professor at the University of Fribourg.
By way of comparison, nearly 70% of parliamentarians and 50% of senators use Twitter.
“They are mainly there to discuss among themselves and to reach journalists who will in turn transmit their ideas,” said the professor.
Metag is the author of several articles on the relationship between politicians and social networks.
More
More
Will Facebook influence the 2019 Swiss elections?
This content was published on
Facebook is reportedly planning to deploy its controversial “I’m a voter” button in Switzerland ahead of parliamentary elections next year.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Authorities want to use social networks in asylum investigations
This content was published on
Swiss migration authorities are reportedly looking at how to use information from social networks to help inform asylum decisions.
This content was published on
As Donald Trump takes the political use of Twitter to a new dimension, we wondered which Swiss politicians are making the most use of social media.
Swiss account for over 14,000 Google ‘right to be forgotten’ requests
This content was published on
Following a ruling of the Court of Justice of The European Union in May 2014, individuals have the right ask search engines like Google to remove results for searches based on their name. Search engines have to comply if the URLs are “inadequate, irrelevant or no longer relevant, or excessive,” as well as consider other…
This content was published on
A specialist in political public relations, Mark Balsiger, tells swissinfo.ch that this is a mistake. Balsiger has recently published a book in German on the right approach to election campaigning (Wahlkampf – aber richtig) in which he presents five success stories and offers advice to candidates, including how to take advantage of the internet and…
The legal difficulties of online expression in Switzerland
This content was published on
Drawing the line between freedom of expression and discrimination is a nuanced minefield in the age of social media, as a case in Switzerland shows.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.