European Parliament Election 2024: German Candidates Social Media Activities

In close cooperation with the German Longitudinal Election Study (GLES), the GESIS Web Data service has collected social media data from German candidates for the 2024 European elections. All public posts by the candidates on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok were collected, as well as data on the candidates´ adverts published on Facebook and Instagram. The collected data provides an insight into the candidates´ online activities and campaign strategies during the election cycle. The dataset includes aggregated data for the period from 1 April 2024 to 9 June 2024 (Election Day). Data was also collected from web searches and the candidates´ websites, but is not currently included in this dataset for privacy reasons. Should you be interested in this data or other aggregated statistics, please contact [e-mail].<br>Detailed platform variables: For each platform, the data was aggregated on the account level. Account-level information (e.g., count of followers) was collected as close to the election as possible (in most cases, the election day itself).

Facebook: Unique identifier for candidates, links to Social Media Accounts dataset; candidates’ party affiliation during the 2024 European Parliament election; total number of followers of the candidate at the time of the last post before the election; total number of posts by the candidate; total number of pictures, videos, and links posted by the candidate; total number of status updates posted by the candidate; total number of likes received on the candidates’ accounts; average number of likes per post; median number of likes per post; lowest number of likes received on a single post; highest number of likes received on a single post; total number of comments received on the candidates´ accounts; average number of comments per post; median number of comments per post; lowest number of comments received on a single post; highest number of comments received on a single post; total number of re-shares of the candidates’ posts; average number of re-shares per post; Median number of re-shares per post; lowest number of re-shares of a single post; highest number of re-shares of a single post; total number of positive emojis (“Love”, “Wow”, “Haha” & ”Care” emoji) used as reactions on the candidates´ posts; average number of positive emojis used as reaction per post; median number of positive emojis used as reaction per post; lowest number of positive emojis used as reaction on a single post; highest number of positive emojis used as reaction on a single post; total number of negative emojis (“Angry” and “Sad” emoji) used as reaction on the candidates´ accounts; median number of negative emojis (“Angry” and “Sad” emoji) used as reaction per post; lowest number of negative emojis (“Angry” and “Sad” emoji) used as reaction on a single post; highest number of negative emojis (“Angry” and “Sad” emoji) used as reaction on a single post; total number of interactions (likes, comments, re-shares, emoji-reactions) on the candidates´ posts; average number of interactions per post; median number of interactions per post; lowest number of interactions with a single post; highest number of interactions with a single post.

Instagram: Unique identifier for candidates; links to Social Media Accounts dataset; candidates’ party affiliation during the 2024 European Parliament election; total number of followers of the candidate at the time of the last post before the election; total number of posts, of pictures, of videos, of albums posted by the candidate; total number of views of posts of the candidate; average number of views per post; median number of views per post; lowest number of views received on a single post; highest number of views received on a single post; total number of likes received on the candidates´ accounts; average number of likes per post; median number of likes per post; lowest number of likes received on a single post; highest number of likes received on a single post; total number of comments received on the candidates´ accounts; average number of comments per post; median number of comments per post; lowest number of comments received on a single post; highest number of comments received on a single post; total number of interactions (likes, comments) on the candidates´ posts; average number of interactions per post; median number of interactions per post; lowest number of interactions with a single post; highest number of interactions with a single post.

X (Twitter): Unique identifier for candidates; links to Social Media Accounts dataset; candidates’ party affiliation during the 2024 European Parliament election; total number of followers of the account; total number of accounts the account is following; total number of tweets published by the account; total number of likes received by the account´s tweets; average number of likes per tweet; lowest number of likes received on a single tweet; median number of likes received per tweet; highest number of likes received on a single tweet; total number of replies received by the account´s tweets; average number of replies per tweet; lowest number of replies received on a single tweet; median number of replies received per tweet; highest number of replies received on a single tweet; total number of quote tweets received; average number of quotes per tweet; lowest number of quotes received on a single tweet; median number of quotes received per tweet; highest number of quotes received on a single tweet; total number of retweets received; average number of retweets per tweet; lowest number of retweets received on a single tweet; median number of retweets received per tweet; highest number of retweets received on a single tweet; total number of mentions made in tweets; average number of mentions per tweet; lowest number of mentions in a single tweet; median number of mentions per tweet; highest number of mentions in a single tweet.

Tik Tok: Unique identifier; links to Social Media Accounts dataset; candidates’ party affiliation during the 2024 European Parliament election; the total number of posts contributed by a user; total number of plays or views a post receives; average number of plays or views a post receives; lowest number of plays or views that a post has received in a time period; middle value of plays or views a post receives; highest number of plays or views a post has received in a given time period; total number of likes a post receives; average number of likes a post receives; lowest number of likes a post has received in a given time period; middle value of likes a post receives; highest number of likes a post has received; total number of shares a post receives; average number of shares a post receives; lowest number of shares a post has received; middle value of shares a post receives; highest number of shares a post has received; total number of comments a post receives; proportion of posts where comments have been blocked; average number of comments a post receives; lowest number of comments a post has received; middle value of comments a post receives; highest number of comments a post has received; total duration of all videos posted by an account, measured in seconds.

Ad Data
The Candidates Ads dataset contains aggregates that refer to ads placed on Facebook and Instagram and are paid by the candidates Facebook page: Unique identifier; links to Social Media Accounts dataset; candidates’ party affiliation during the 2024 European Parliament election; total number of unique ads placed by the candidate (ads placed on more than one platform count as one ad); total number of ads placed on the platform Facebook by the candidate; total number of ads placed on the platform Instagram by the candidate; number of different languages of ads placed by the candidate; languages the majority of the ads of the candidate is in.; average number of days an ad by the candidate is online; median number of days an ad by the candidate is online; lowest number of days an ad by the candidate is online; highest number of days an ad by the candidate is online; total number of ads placed by the candidate with an estimated expense between ‘lower’ and ‘upper’ in EUR; total number of ads placed by the candidate with an estimated audience size between ‘lower’ and ‘upper’; total number of ads placed by the candidate with an estimated impression size between ‘lower’ and ‘upper’.

The Party Ads dataset contains aggregates that refer to ads placed on Facebook and Instagram and are paid by the Party’s main account (Facebook page): Unique identifier; links to the Social Media Accounts dataset variable “partei”; total number of unique ads placed by the party (ads placed on more than one platform count as one ad); total number of ads placed on the platform Facebook by the party; total number of ads placed on the platform Instagram by the party; number of different languages of ads placed by the party; languages the majority of the ads of the party is in; average number of days an ad by the party is online; median number of days an ad by the party is online; lowest number of days an ad by the party is online; highest number of days an ad by the party is online; total number of ads placed by the party with an estimated expense between ‘lower’ and ‘upper’ in EUR; total number of ads placed by the party with an estimated audience size between ‘lower’ and ‘upper’; total number of ads placed by the party with an estimated impression size between ‘lower’ and ‘upper’.

Ad targeting criteria aggregates for ads paid by the candidate’s Facebook account (ads may appear on Facebook and Instagram) and paid by the main party accounts (Facebook pages): Candidates’ ads targeting criteria and Party ads targeting criteria.