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Abstract

A meme consists of any words or images in a text that can be replicated across communicators in the exchange of information. This study tests the Multilevel Model of Meme Diffusion (M³D) in a case study in the digital electronic technology that captures the controversial opinions regarding death penalty abolishment in Nebraska. The objective is to demonstrate that an internet-based study using social media data can be used to analyze and predict social processes engaging with phenomena in real space. The authors utilize the meme death_penalty in Twitter texts to predict public perception of death penalty abolishment in Nebraska. The M³D theory integrates the fields of geography and computer-mediated communication technology to explain and predict public opinion on the death penalty.

Keywords

controversial opinions death penalty meme diffusion social media

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Analyzing public opinions on death penalty abolishment

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