Political fandom on Twitter: La Cueva and the Alberto Garzón supporters in the Spanish general elections of 2015 and 2016

Abstract

The communication strategy developed on Twitter by the communication team La Cueva, of the political party Izquierda Unida, during the general elections of 2015 and 2016, achieved notoriety because of the language used and the followers and sympathizer´s participation. This article analyzes the tweets generated by the accounts of the party and the candidate Alberto Garzón during the two electoral campaigns, by combining frequency analysis, as a quantitative technique, and digital ethnography, as a qualitative technique. A confluence of factors, such as the visualization of the candidate´s private life and the admiration professed by the "garzoners" (Garzón´s supporters), both promoted by La Cueva, allows us to consider Alberto Garzón as an example of politician celebrity.