Fine Gael dominate Facebook conversation in Mayo

WITH less than two weeks to go until polling day, new data released by Facebook has revealed that Fine Gael are the most discussed political party on Facebook in Mayo since November.

Across the county, Fianna Fáil were the second most discussed party while Sinn Féin are in third spot. The Labour Party come fourth in the rankings for conversations in Mayo, followed by the Green Party, then Renua, the Social Democrats, the People Before Profit Alliance and the Anti Austerity Alliance.

Facebook’s data has also revealed that health, the economy and infrastructure were the most discussed election-related issues in Mayo. After that came social welfare, crime and corruption, education, flooding, housing and abortion.

In terms of personality politics, Taoiseach Enda Kenny was the most discussed political leader in Mayo, with Tánaiste Joan Burton coming second. Gerry Adams of Sinn Féin was third in the county ahead of Fianna Fáil’s Micheál Martin.

Said Elizabeth Linder, Facebook’s politics and government specialist for the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region: “As February 26 approaches, we are seeing the level of election-related conversation on Facebook get louder and louder across the counties, including Mayo. There have been over three million interactions on Facebook related to the general election already.

“As this data for Mayo shows, we’ve been able to really dig down into these interactions and understand what issues voters really care about. What is clear is that there is a lot of interest in the election throughout the county. We expect to see even further activity from Mayo based Facebook users over the rest of the campaign.”