SMU Data Science Review

The Prevalence and Impact of Discourse in Social Media Networks: The 2024 Presidential Election

Kyle Kuberski, Southern Methodist UniversityFollow
Xavier R. Mojica, Southern Methodist UniversityFollow
Gwonchan J. Yoon, Southern Methodist UniversityFollow
Brad Klein, Southern Methodist UniversityFollow
Bivin P. Sadler, Southern Methodist UniversityFollow

Abstract

Abstract. Social Media platforms serve as central hubs for global discourse, where political dialogue is widely shared and echoed. This exchange shapes civic participation and influences electoral outcomes, often with both intended and unintended consequences. In its inception, social media platforms served as message boards for the masses, yet manipulation and exploiting of systems via bot usage has made platforms susceptible to outside forces. Thus, false narratives and an artificial sense of consensus are endemically augmented. As for the 2016 and 2020 U.S. presidential elections, it is important to investigate the prevalence of evolved bot activity in both political and social media discourse. This research's goal is to investigate how social media influences elections and democratic processes, with a focus on disinformation, the shaping of public discourse, and the influencing of political outcomes. This study examines how systematic and automated accounts artificially shape national engagement within the United States by leveraging machine learning models such as Random Forest, XGBoost, and Botometer for bot detection. The analysis utilizes public, private, and web-scraped datasets from social media platforms, including Facebook, Reddit, and X (sourced from Twibot-22, Kaggle, and independent web scraping). Results will be evaluated not only for bot detection accuracy and prevalence but also for their broader implications on online discourse, polarization, and information dissemination leading up to the 2024 presidential election. Ethical considerations include user anonymity and compliance with platform policies. This research aims to provide insights into the evolving role of social media in shaping public opinion and electoral influence.

Recommended Citation

Kuberski, Kyle; Mojica, Xavier R.; Yoon, Gwonchan J.; Klein, Brad; and Sadler, Bivin P. (2025) "The Prevalence and Impact of Discourse in Social Media Networks: The 2024 Presidential Election," SMU Data Science Review: Vol. 9: No. 1, Article 2.
Available at: https://scholar.smu.edu/datasciencereview/vol9/iss1/2