Representations of Inuit Issues on X (Twitter): Who is Framing Inuit Issues and How?

Authors

  • Mathieu Landriault École nationale d'administration publique
  • Alexandre Millette École nationale d'administration publique
  • Gabrielle LaFortune University of Ottawa

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22584/nr56.2024.004

Keywords:

Social Media, Content Analysis, Arctic, Inuit Issues, X, Twitter, Sentiment Analysis

Abstract

Advance Online Article first published September 2024. Page numbers not final.

This article documents who speaks about Inuit issues on social media and how these issues are portrayed on social media. By drawing on data from the Twitter (now X) platform, we analyzed the most relayed messages posted about Inuit issues from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2022. We performed a content analysis in order to explore the tonality (through sentiment analysis) and the topics (through topic modelling) of the posts referring to Inuit issues. Inuit users on X formed a small but dynamic contingent, succeeding in playing a central role in defining Inuit issues on the platform. Their popularity could be partially credited to the positivity of their messages. The rare overlap of topics between Inuit and non-Inuit users on X points to the challenge of Inuit users reaching non-Inuit allies. We conclude that non-Inuit allies could do more to relay Inuit priorities and messages on the platform.

Author Biographies

Mathieu Landriault, École nationale d'administration publique

Director, Observatoire de la politique et la sécurité de l’Arctique (OPSA), Centre interuniversitaire de recherche sur les relations internationales du Canada et du Québec (CIRRICQ), Montreal.
Lecturer, School of Political Studies, University of Ottawa and the School of Conflict Studies, Saint Paul University

Alexandre Millette, École nationale d'administration publique

Doctoral Candidate

Gabrielle LaFortune, University of Ottawa

Doctoral Candidate, School of Political Studies

Front Cover of the Northern Review journal Number 46, featuring a watercolour painting of beautiful multicoloured northern lights against a starry sky, with conifer trees in the foreground. Cover artist Doug Rutherford, Whitehorse

Downloads

Published

09/26/2024

Issue

No. 56 (2024)

Section

Special Collection: Media Representations of the Arctic

License

Copyright (c) 2024 Mathieu Landriault, Alexandre Millette, Gabrielle LaFortune

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

 a. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication, with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.

b. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.

c. The journal has the right to authorize third-party publishers & aggregators to include the Article in databases or other services (EBSCO, Proquest).

d. The journal has the right to share the Article on the Internet, through social media and other means.