Analysing the social media voices of the UK’s EU referendum

#Brexit or #Bremain: What does the Internet say about the future of the UK and the European Union?

THE GIST: The EU referendum on 23 June 2016 will decide whether the United Kingdom should leave or remain in the European Union. Since the gap between remain and leave has been narrowing in opinion polls, I have analysed the online discussions pertaining to the EU referendum from 28k media posts of 15k Instagram users. My analysis shows that Brexit-supporters are more passionate, more outspoken and more aggressive in online debates. Furthermore, a semantic analysis of 13k relevant hashtags reveals that the leave camp uses hashtags in a much more organised fashion to dominate the networked public and polarise the debate.

As part of the World Economic Forum’s regional programme on Europe, I was invited to participate in the “Britain in the World” meeting in May 2016 to meet with Prime Minister David Cameron and ten members of the UK Government to discuss the implications of a potential Brexit for the UK. As a Global Shaper, my responsibility was to represent the voices of the millennial generation and help explore the role that young people have to play in the future of the UK and the European Union.