Ethos numérique et image de candidat dans les campagnes électroniques : le cas des élections israéliennes de 2013

This article explores the rhetorical dimensions of electronic campaigns and particularly focuses on the specificity of candidate images construction on social networks. The analysis of Facebook activity of three prominent candidates during the 2013 Israeli Elections, uncovers three discursive strategies: informality, meta-textuality and narrativity. These discursive strategies transform the campaign microblogs into personal “campaign diaries” used by the candidates to account for “behind the scenes” anecdotes, subjective impressions and private insights. The analysis shows that candidates used personal Facebook microblogs to strengthen their image as “authentic” and complex characters, which differs, and in some respect contrasts their public persona as was engineered by the campaign managers in the mainstream campaign. This article argues that such political images were strategically designed in order to support the campaigns’ promise to break from the “old politics” and warrant the candidates’ commitment to the “new politics.”