Political AD Portraits: A Visual Analysis of Constituents’ Reaction to Political Spoof ADS

The democratization of the Internet and, subsequently, the growing popularity of amateur video production, have given rise to historic levels of voter empowerment. More specifically, the populace has turned to YouTube and other, similar websites to voice their opinions in a public manner through the posting of, and response to, amateur political videos. These portals contain a plethora of data regarding popular opinion and voter sentiment. This data is a pure, unbiased picture of actual voter sentiment. If politicians can find a way to scientifically acquire and interpret these voter sentiments, it would be an invaluable tool. Using the visualization software, Leximancer, we show how conversations around political ads can be mapped and interpreted. We discuss the implications of our findings, outline the technique’s limitations and trace avenues to extend the research.