DIGITAL DUEL by NewsVibe. TOP 5 parties in the Romanian online space, in the last week

According to the data extracted and analyzed with the help of NewsVibe, an AI media monitoring platform, the total number of mentions about parties, as well as their estimated impact in relevant online sources from Romania, recorded a significant increase compared to the previous period. For all parties included in the top, mentions have increased, even if in different proportions.

The developments were largely determined by discussions within the coalition regarding the removal or maintenance of the cap on commercial markups for food; by expectations related to the CCR decisions regarding the packages of measures to reduce the deficit; by the sharing of functions in administration among the parties in the coalition; by speculations regarding a possible resignation of Prime Minister Bolojan; as well as by the political debates generated by the motion initiated by AUR against the Minister of Environment.

Compared to last week, the most significant increases were recorded by UDMR (+180%) and USR (+51%). Although AUR recorded a slight increase, it was surpassed by all other formations, ranking last this week.

NEWSVIBE GRAPHIC. Top 5 parties based on the volume of mentions in relevant online sources and social media (sources validated by the NewsVibe platform), in the last week.

VISIBILITY AND COMPARATIVE IMPACT. The competitive analysis engine created by NewsVibe evaluates the ability of political actors to penetrate the online space, directly compared to their competitors.

Mentions and their estimated impact for the parties in the coalition continue to grow, exceeding 90% of the total in both cases.

USR surpasses PNL both in the number of mentions and in estimated impact. The very high visibility of Prime Minister Bolojan does not seem to reflect in the visibility of PNL, of which he is the president. In comparison, the number of mentions about Prime Minister Bolojan was almost three times higher than that of mentions about PNL.

Regarding AUR, the impact of mentions decreases compared to the previous week, even though the actual number of them is higher.

NewsVibe Charts. The share of the number of mentions (left), respectively the impact of mentions (right) about each of the parties from the total cumulative mentions about all five

NETWORK ANALYSIS. The tool created by NewsVibe – semantic network analysis – uses advanced artificial intelligence and machine learning methods to build interaction maps that highlight: the central actors of a conversation, the connections between them, the groups (clusters) of themes, concepts, and influencers (personalities and organizations) that have formed around an event, subject, or idea.

NewsVibe Graphic. The semantic network associated with the online conversation about the main 5 parliamentary parties, in the last week

What the analysis shows: 

• A consistent community of public debate centered around PSD, around which PNL, UDMR, Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan, or social-democrat leader Sorin Grindeanu gravitate. This dominant nucleus reflects discussions within the coalition on the topic of capping commercial markups on food, about local administration reform, but also speculations regarding a resignation of the prime minister and the reactions generated by these.
• A debate area constituted around AUR, with terms such as George Simion or Diana Buzoianu in proximity. This nucleus is determined by the motion filed by AUR against the Minister of Environment, a member of USR.
• A distinct segment formed around USR, where the names of the leaders of this party gravitate, particularly that of the party president, Dominic Fritz.
• All three areas relate relatively strongly, with the AUR area no longer being isolated, as was the case in previous weeks. This is explained by the fact that the motion against the Minister of Environment generated discussions regarding the political support she enjoys within the coalition (voices from PSD have criticized Diana Buzoianu).
• Furthermore, the node Romania remains a core of convergence and relation of the other areas, represented by parties and political leaders.

SENTIMENT. The NewsVibe platform has created an advanced automated sentiment analysis system, which uses specially trained AI algorithms and LLM tools to detect tonal nuances – favorable, unfavorable, or neutral – in the context of references to relevant entities for an online conversation.

NewsVibe Graphic. The automatic evaluation of the tone of the online conversation about the main 5 parliamentary parties, in the week

What the analysis shows: 

• PSD remains the political actor present in a dominant manner in contexts of controversy and tension. However, compared to previous weeks, a more balanced representation of PSD online is observed, through the appearance of mixed media contexts.
• A similar situation is noted this week in the cases of Ilie Bolojan, Diana Buzoianu, AUR, or USR. This dynamic is significantly influenced by discussions about government measures, but also by the political confrontations generated by the AUR motion against the Minister of Environment. Even in this general framework of online media coverage, Diana Buzoianu is more visible than other actors and in positive contexts.

*****Summary created with the help of a data monitoring flow provided by the media monitoring platform NewsVibe Romania. The analysis, data, and images presented have been enhanced with the help of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence tools.