Political Polarity on Twitter During the Covid-19 Pandemic and the Presidential Campaign: The Case of Colombia

Political polarization on social media is an increasing phenomenon in today's society. In particular, Twitter has become a platform for the dissemination of political messages charged of polarity. This study used data mining and sentiment analysis to dive into the thematic content and polarity of over 9000 tweets posted by Gustavo Petro and Iván Duque during the 2018 presidential campaign and the 2020–2021 pandemic. The research shows significant findings in the difference in polarity of the tweets of both political figures and, also, in the variation that both show in their polarity, according to the problem of the pandemic, to distinguish and impose their personal brand on social media. The results suggest that both politicians used contrasting strategies when communicating through Twitter.