More than half the world’s population in at least 76 countries will go to the polls this year, making 2024 the year of global elections. As election coverage begins to intensify, we’ll be exploring the topics and issues that dominate the political landscape. We’ve looked at the top stories and coverage from some of the biggest elections in the world this year, from the US to the UK. We’ll have more detailed coverage and analysis coming out in the weeks to come, but here are some snapshots to whet the appetite.
The US election
On Super Tuesday, we released our first report looking at some of the early trends in the US election, which despite not being until November is already getting plenty of attention. We analyzed coverage of topics like immigration and foreign policy, both of which were the leading topics of interest for the American public in this stage of the election cycle.
Looking at immigration, there have been nearly 5 million engagements to the articles written about it since the start of the year, with a dispute at the Texas border being the major narrative driving public interest. The ongoing conflict between President Biden and the state’s Gov. Greg Abbott escalated even further in January, which you can read more about in our report.
This is not over. Texas' razor wire is an effective deterrent to the illegal crossings Biden encourages. I will continue to defend Texas' constitutional authority to secure the border and prevent the Biden Admin from destroying our property.https://t.co/pV7Cuq57d1
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) January 22, 2024
The individuals involved in the election are just as important as topics and issues, prompting us to look at the media and public interest in the two leading presidential candidates, Biden and Trump. While web coverage of both candidates captured significant attention, it’s clear that social media has become a key focus for each. Their owned accounts, specifically Instagram, has served as a space to embrace more of an online persona, with Biden and Trump’s top posts receiving hundreds of thousands of engagements. All of this and more can be found in our full report.
The UK election
We don’t actually yet know when the election in the UK is going to be, but it will be sometime in the next 12 months. Whenever it is called, unlike the US election, it will all come together very quickly, with the campaign season often lasting less than a month in total. For now, we’ve looked at web articles published in the United Kingdom that mention the UK election or parliament in order to better understand the political landscape that’s brewing.
There are a few standout stories that have emerged from media coverage so far, the most notable, and potentially one of the most impactful, being about Britons who have lived abroad for more than 15 years regaining their right to vote in parliamentary UK elections, meaning that over 3 million people will be able to vote again in a general election this year.
The other stories that round out the top three have to do with the parties themselves, with the BBC reporting on both. This included George Galloway’s by-election win in Rochdale, which resulted in Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer vowing to put forward a “first class” candidate for Rochdale before the general election, and a story about Tory MP Chris Skidmore resigning over government energy plans, triggering a by-election to replace him.
The top publishers have included The Guardian and The Telegraph, both of which have captured interest with their reporting on the Tory party. However, it was the BBC that landed in the top spot for publishers, having 166 articles that earned over 42k engagements.
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On social media we’ve seen a similarity in content between the UK and US elections in that the candidates’ owned accounts have been massive drivers of attention. On Instagram, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak garnered serious attention with a video in support of banning phones in schools across the UK. The post has received 458k engagements, and is flooded with comments criticizing him for focusing on phones when there are more concerning issues at hand.
Throughout the year we’ll be looking at election coverage in India and other countries where it’s of significance. In the meantime, you can use our quick reference guide to stay informed on all the major elections in 2024.
