# Redes sociales, participación ciudadana y la hipótesis del slacktivismo: lecciones del caso de "El Bronco" / Social Media, Civic Engagement, and the Slacktivism Hypothesis: Lessons from Mexico's "El Bronco"

**Authors:** Philip N. Howard, Saiph Savage, Claudia Flores-Saviaga, Carlos Toxtli, Andres Monroy-Hernández  
**arXiv:** [1710.03330](https://arxiv.org/abs/1710.03330)  
**Date:** 2017-10-09  
**Summary page:** https://www.summarizepaper.com/en/arxiv-id/1710.03330v1/

## Key points

- Social media's impact on civic engagement is a topic of debate
- "Slacktivism hypothesis" suggests political conversations on social media are shallow and fleeting
- A case study from Mexico shows a different perspective
- Independent candidate "El Bronco" used social media to win the race for state governor
- Sustained public engagement generated by El Bronco's use of social media continued beyond election day
- Researchers analyzed over 750,000 posts, comments, and replies on El Bronco's Facebook page over three years
- Social media can facilitate meaningful interactions about public life beyond political events
- Study provides valuable insights into how social media can be harnessed for effective civic engagement.

## Summary

The impact of social media on civic engagement is a topic of much debate. While the "slacktivism hypothesis" suggests that political conversations on social media are shallow and fleeting, a case study from Mexico offers a different perspective. In this study, an independent candidate known as "El Bronco" used social media to communicate with the public and won the race for state governor by defeating candidates from traditional parties. The sustained public engagement generated by El Bronco's use of social media continued beyond election day. The researchers analyzed over 750,000 posts, comments, and replies on El Bronco's Facebook page over three years and found that social media can facilitate meaningful interactions about public life beyond political events. This study provides valuable insights into how social media can be harnessed for effective civic engagement.