Mining public opinion: why unsuccessful online petitions should not be ignored

Taha Yasseri argues that by analysing online petition data using computational techniques, politicians can glean fresh insights about the geographic factors influencing constituents’ concerns, the dynamics at play over time, as well as a deeper awareness of the issues most important to the general public

Predicting success of online petitions from the perspective of agenda setting

Existing predictive models of online petition popularity largely overlooked the literature of agenda-setting. This study adheres to Cobb and Elder’s (1972) issue expansion model and symbolism (Birkland, 2017) in the agenda-setting literature. Examining the literature, we identified features of popular petitions and will examine the effects of these features on online petition success. Commonly used models will be used to evaluate our proposed features and to compare their performance with benchmark cases. The predictive model, i.e. the product of our study, is the combination of our proposed features and the best performing model. The contributions of the study are two-fold. This study demonstrates how we can translate the textual characteristics described by the literature of agenda-setting into technical features that are comprehensible to machines. On practical implications, a better predictive model helps activists to better utilize online platforms to secure support for their proposed policy changes

IMPLIKASI PETISI ONLINE PLATFORM CHANGE.ORG SEBAGAI MEDIA BARU TERHADAP KEBIJAKAN RKUHP (RANCANGAN KITAB UNDANG-UNDANG HUKUM PIDANA) DAN UU MD3 (UNDANG-UNDANG MPR, DPR, DPRD, DPD)

ABSTRAKPenelitian ini bertujuan mengetahui bagaimana implikasi petisi online Change.orgsebagai media baru dalam mengadvokasi kebijakan publik RKUHP (RancanganKitab Undang-undang Hukum Pidana) dan UU MD3 (Undang-undang MPR,DPR, DPRD, dan DPD) dengan menggunakan kerangka konsep ultimate danintermediate effectiveness oleh Martin dan Kracher. Taktik protes online berhasilsecara ultimate jika mencapa perubahan kebijakan, sedangkan berhasil secaraintermediate jika mencuri perhatian pembuat kebijakan. Penelitian inimenggunakan pendekatan kualitatif ekplanatif. Subjek penelitian pada penelitianini adalah platform petisi online Change.org. Objek penelitian yang digunakanadalah implikasi platform petisi online Change.org terhadap kebijakan public UUMD3 dan RKUHP. Pengumpulan data dilakukan dengan menggunakan teknikdokumentasi studi pustaka dan observasi. Analisis data menggunakan metode alirmeliputi reduksi data, penyajian data, dan menarik kesimpulan. Hasil penelitianmenunjukkan bahwa platform petisi online Change.org yang didukung denganaktivitas advokasi lain seperti advokasi media, kampanye online dan offline, lobi,pengorganisasian, dan event dinilai berimplikasi secara intermediate dalammengadvokasi kebijakan publik dan akan berimplikasi secara ultimate jikamendapat respon yang positif dari pembuat kebijakan. Keberhasilan secaraintermediate menjadi faktor yang mendukung dan mentukan keberhasilan secaraultimate.Kata Kunci: Petisi Online, Change.org Indonesia, Advokasi Kebijakan, MediaBaruABSTRACTThis research aims to see how the implications of Change.org's online petition asa new media in advocating for public policy RKUHP (Draft Criminal Code) andMD3 Law (MPR, DPR, DPRD, and DPD laws) using a conceptual frameworkand effectiveness. medium by Martin and Kracher. Online protest tactics workwhen policies change, whereas policies work when they are policies. This studyuses an explanative qualitative approach. The research subject in this study wasthe Change.org online petition platform. The object of research used is theimplications of Change.org's online petition platform for the public policy of theMD3 Law and the RKUHP. Data collection was carried out using literature studydocumentation and observation techniques. Data analysis using flow methodsincluding data reduction, data presentation, and interesting. The results showedthat Change.org's online petition platform supported by other advocacy activitiessupported by advocacy media, online and offline campaigns, lobbying,organizing, and events have intermediary implications in advocating for publicpolicy and will have the ultimate implication of getting a positive response frompolicy maker. Success is a factor that supports and determines the ultimate.Keywords: Online Petitions, Change.org Indonesia, Policy Advocacy, NewMedia

We the undersigned: anonymous dissent and the struggle for personal identity in online petitions

Anonymous signatures pose a significant threat to the legitimacy of the online petition as a persuasive form of political communication. While anonymous signatures address some privacy concerns for online petitioners, they often fail to identify petitioners as numerically distinct and socially relevant persons, Since anonymous signatures often fail to personally identify online petitioners, they often fail to provide sufficient reason for targeted political authorities to review and respond to their grievances. To recover the personal rhetoric of the online petition in a way that strikes a balance between the publicity and privacy concerns of petitioners, we should reformat online petitions as pseudonymous social networks of personal testimony between petitioners and targeted political authorities. To this end, the pseudonymous signatures of online petitions should incorporate social frames, co-authored complaints and demands, multimedia voice, and revisable support.M.S.Committee Chair: DiSalvo, Carl; Committee Member: Bogost, Ian; Committee Member: Klein, Hans; Committee Member: Murray, Janet; Committee Member: Pearce, Celi

Hybrid Recommender for Online Petitions with Social Network and Psycholinguistic Features

The online petition has become one of the most important channels of civic participation. Most of the state-of-the-art online platforms, however, tend to use simple indicators (such as popularity) to rank petitions, hence creating a situation where the most popular petitions dominate the rank and attract most people’s attention. For the petitions which focus on specific issues, they are often in a disadvantageous position on the list. For example, a petition for local environment problem may not be seen by many people who are really concerned with it, simply because it takes multiple pages to reach it. Therefore, the simple ranking mechanism adopted by most of the online petition platforms cannot effectively link most petitions with those who are really concerned with them. According to previous studies online, petitions seriousness has been questioned due to the rare chance of succeeding. At most, less than 10% of online petitions get the chance to fulfill their causes. To solve this problem, we present a design of a novel recommender system (PETREC). It leverages social interaction features, psycholinguistic features, and latent topic features to provide a personalized ranking to different users. Hence, it can give users better petition recommendations fitting their unique concerns. We evaluate PETREC against matrix factorization collaborative filtering and content-based filtering with the bag of words (Bow) features as two baseline recommenders for benchmarking. PETREC prediction performance outperformed Matrix factorization collaborative filtering, Bow petition-based content filtering, and Bow user-based content filtering with 4.2%, 1.7%, and 2.8% respectively as improvements in Root Mean Square Error (RMSE). The recommendation system described in this paper has potential to improve the user experience of online petition platforms. Thus, it is possible that it could encourage more public participation. Eventually, it will help the citizens to make a real difference through actively participating in online petitions that are matching their personalized concerns

Experiencing Poverty in an Online Simulation: Effects on Players’ Beliefs, Attitudes and Behaviors about Poverty

Digital simulations are increasingly used to educate about the causes and effects of poverty, and inspire action to alleviate it. Drawing on research about attributions of poverty, subjective well-being, and relative income, this experimental study assesses the effects of an online poverty simulation (entitled Spent) on participants’ beliefs, attitudes, and actions. Results show that, compared with a control group, Spent players donated marginally more money to a charity serving the poor and expressed higher support for policies benefitting the poor, but were less likely to take immediate political action by signing an online petition to support a higher minimum wage. Spent players also expressed greater subjective well-being than the control group, but this was not associated with increased policy support or donations. Spent players who experienced greater presence (perceived realism of the simulation) had higher levels of empathy, which contributed to attributing poverty to structural causes and support for anti-poverty policies. We draw conclusions for theory about the psychological experience of playing online poverty simulations, and for how they could be designed to stimulate charity and support for anti-poverty policies

Digitalisasi Dalam Mempengaruhi Partisipasi Politik: Studi Kasus pada Petisi Online “Gratiskan Vaksin Covid-19 Untuk Semua Rakyat Indonesia!”

ABSTRACT   After the government announced that there will be two corona virus vaccination schemes; government program vaccination and self-vaccination, the public gave a disapproving reaction by raising an online petition on the Change.org website asking the government to make vaccines free for all Indonesians. Within five days, there were more than 7500 virtual signatures supporting the policy from the initial target of 2500 signatures. As a result, the government decided to make vaccines free for all Indonesians. By using literature review research method, this qualitative paper came to conclusion that the online petition entitled "Free Covid-19 Vaccine For All Indonesian People!" on the Change.org site is follows Direct Democracy digital democracy where the goal is equality to make free vaccines for all Indonesian people without any political actors acting as intermediaries. Political participation carried out by the public through digital media has proven not to tarnish democratic values ​​at all, in fact, it actually strengthens them when carried out with applicable norms. Keywords:  Digital Democracy; Direct Democracy; Online Petition; Political Participation   ABSTRAK   Setelah pemerintah mengumumkan skema pelaksanaan vaksinasi corona virus terbagi dua, yaitu vaksinasi program pemerintah dan vaksinasi mandiri, publik memberikan reaksi tidak setuju dengan menggalang petisi online di situs Change.org yang meminta pemerintah untuk menggratiskan vaksin untuk seluruh masyarakat Indonesia. Dalam kurun waktu lima hari, terdapat lebih dari 7500 tanda tangan virtual yang mendukung kebijakan tersebut dari target awal sebanyak 2500 tanda tangan. Hasilnya, pemerintah memutuskan untuk menggratiskan vaksin untuk seluruh masyarakat Indonesia. Dengan analisa menggunakan metode penelitian kualitatif kajian pustaka, petisi online berjudul “Gratiskan Vaksin Covid-19 Untuk Semua Rakyat Indonesia!” di situs Change.org merupakan bentuk demokrasi digital Direct Democracy di mana tujuannya merupakan kesetaraan, yaitu membuat vaksin gratis untuk seluruh masyarakat Indonesia, dan peran pembuat petisi yang menjadi representasi masyarakat tanpa adanya aktor politik yang menjadi perantara. Partisipasi politik yang dilakukan oleh publik melalui media digital terbukti tidak mencoreng nilai-nilai demokrasi sama sekali, justru malah memperkuatnya saat dilakukan dengan norma-norma yang berlaku. Kata kunci : Demokrasi Digital; Demokrasi langsung; Partisipasi Politik; Petisi Online &nbsp

Free Speech and Good Omens

On May 13th, a Christian group called Return to Order began circulating an online petition to “Tell Netflix: Cancel Blasphemous ‘Good Omens’ Series.” So far, the petition has received over 21,000 signatures and has attracted the attention of many more. It generated substantial buzz in news sources and on social media, but perhaps not for the reasons that those who started it had hoped—Good Omens, an adaptation of a book written by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, was produced as a collaboration between Amazon and the BBC. The series was not made by nor is it hosted on Netflix. There is little that Netflix could do to get the series cancelled

The Internet and Civic Engagement

Based on a survey, analyzes how socioeconomic status and other demographics correlate with online and offline political and civic engagement. Explores suggestions that younger generations' political use of social media may alter such patterns