[eBook]Online Campaign Narratives in Thailand’s 2023 General Election: An Ecosystem Analysis

Leveraging an original dataset comprising over 2,500 posts disseminated by major parties on Facebook and X (formerly known as Twitter) one month prior to the election to two days afterwards, the findings show that while parties have different posting strategies and a predetermined platform of choice, their campaign narratives can be categorized in general terms. 

Although economic and populist policies are the most prevalent campaigning narratives for most parties, the victory of the Move Forward party, gained through highlighting social issues and structural reforms, suggests that promises to address deep-rooted societal issues might have been more appealing to the Thai voters in this election. 

Distinct engagement patterns for some types of posts are also observed, alluding that netizens’ reactions can be different based on the types of content posted by parties. However, apart from the Move Forward Party’s followers, discrediting narratives did not receive much reaction from other parties’ followers.