The Characteristics of Social Media Influencers that Affect Political News Engagement among the Thai Citizens
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This research article examines the characteristics of social media influencers that affect political news engagement among Thai citizens. A mixed-methods approach was employed. For quantitative research, the questionnaire was selected as a research instrument for data collection from 400 respondents aged over 18 years with the right to vote in the general elections in 2023. The clusters covered 6 regions encompassing 12 provinces in Thailand. In terms of a qualitative research approach, 13 key informants who were social media influencers employed by media outlets and media freelancers presenting news on broadcast and social media channels participated in this research. Statistics applied for the data analysis included frequency, percentage, standard deviation, independent sample t-test, One-Way ANOVA, and Fisher’s LSD method for multiple comparison. Findings showed that (1) overall, each attribute of the social media influencers’ characteristics influenced political news engagement among Thai citizens at a high level. Credibility of personal brand received the highest mean, followed by celebrityhood, social networking, political opinion leadership, capability of content creation and spreading, and social status, respectively. (2) It was found that male and female respondents had different opinions toward the characteristics of the social media influencers that affect political news engagement at statistical significance of the 0.05 level, overall. In contrast, different ages and educations of the respondents had no general differences. (3) Social media influencers were significant at each step of the public policy process. Their role was to provide thorough news and information, which required innovation to develop the presentation patterns of news information in order to meet the tastes of each group of viewers. These presentation patterns could be in the use of charts, pages, or graphics that allow viewers to understand easily and quickly. Colorful presentation also enhances the viewers’ experiences, encouraging more participation in public discussions about the analysis and development of future policy implementation.
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