Internet information and communication behavior during a political moment: The Iraq war, March 2003

This article explores the Internet as a resource for political information and communication in March 2003, when American troops were first sent to Iraq, offering us a unique setting of political context, information use, and technology. Employing a national survey conducted by the Pew Internet & American Life project. We examine the political information behavior of the Internet respondents through an exploratory factor analysis; analyze the effects of personal demographic attributes and political attitudes, traditional and new media use, and technology on online behavior through multiple regression analysis; and assess the online political information and communication behavior of supporters and dissenters of the Iraq War. The factor analysis suggests four factors: activism, support, information seeking, and communication. The regression analysis indicates that gender, political attitudes and beliefs, motivation, traditional media consumption, perceptions of bias in the media, and computer experience and use predict online political information behavior, although the effects of these variables differ for the four factors. The information and communication behavior of supporters and dissenters of the Iraq War differed significantly. We conclude with a brief discussion of the value of " interdisciplinary poaching " for advancing the study of Internet information practices. 2 Introduction The Internet has evolved into an extraordinary resource for locating, communicating, and sharing information on all matters of everyday life, including financial transactions, products and services, health, education, jobs, and entertainment. It has also become a highly effective vehicle for mobilizing interest groups, political parties, ordinary citizens, and advocacy organizations and, increasingly, the sole source of information about politics, news, and events for many people (Raine & Horrigan, 2007). The Internet has made " readily [and freely] accessible the largest and most dynamic body of political information ever available to American citizens " (Bimber, 2001, p. 54) and altered the flows of political information to citizens. A large body of empirical research on the use of the Internet in daily life is now available that confirms the integration of the Web into daily life, as a taken-for-granted and as making a difference in people's lives as a source of information and interpersonal communication The coming of age for the Internet also recognized the maturity of new media during a major international event, the Iraq War, which represented one of the first political moments aside from elections where the information environment and the mediated public sphere were noticeably political. In what has been called …