Russia, Ukraine, and the West: Social Media Sentiment in the Euromaidan Protests

October 2014
Authored by Bruce Etling

Russia, Ukraine, and the West"Russia, Ukraine, and the West: Social Media Sentiment in the Euromaidan Protests," authored by Bruce Etling, analyzes content from a range of online Russian- and English-language sources, including both social media (Facebook, Twitter, and forums) and traditional media, to explore sentiment in the online conversation about the Euromaidan protests in Ukraine last winter.

This paper investigates sentiment in the online conversation about the Ukrainian Euromaidan protests across a range of English- and Russian-language social and traditional media sources. Results from this exploratory research show more support for the Euromaidan protests in Russian-language sources, including among sources and users based in Russia, than originally expected. Sentiment in English-language sources, including those located in the United States and United Kingdom, is more negative than anticipated given the rhetorical support among western governments for the Euromaidan protests. However, social media content in Ukraine, the US, and the UK is more positive than traditional media outlets in those countries.

Key findings include:

  • Support for the Euromaidan protests was stronger in Russian sources, and less strong in sources from the US and UK, than expected: when neutral content was removed, Russian-language sources were more positive (64%) than negative (36%) toward the protests, while English sources were overall a bit more negative (54%) than positive (46%).
  • Russian-language sources grew more negative as protests continue; English-language sources became more positive at the very end of the protests.
  • Overall, Russian social media was more neutral (69%) than expected.
  • Social media content was more positive than online media content overall.

Download the full report as a PDF from SSRN: "Russia, Ukraine, and the West: Social Media Sentiment in the Euromaidan Protests"