Sensational Stories in Social Networks and the Media Agenda (Typology of Viral Content in Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram Platforms for 2017)

Abstract

Viral content coming from social networks is often included in the media agenda setting. This type of content is a source of information that can be shared, investigated, analyzed, tracked over time, and so on. Stories only become viral when they are seen, shared, liked or commented many times, which can range from hundreds to thousands and millions of times. The aim of the study is to distinguish the main categories of content and dominant emotion in a selection of examples in top stories for 2017. As a starting point, we use some key definitions for viral content. We also look at what kind of information the world was searching for in 2017, and we try to establish the link between the desired information and the potential viral content of the web. Exploring what type of content becomes viral on social networks is important because it might help understand what the audience excites most about why this type of content often reaches the media agenda and what its specific features are.