List and description of the categories applied to the study of the items: “followers,” “followed accounts,” “most frequently retweeted users,” “most frequently mentioned users” and “users with the highest number of responses.”
- Citizen (foreign audience): Twitter accounts of ordinary citizens, considered in this research as a foreign audience.
- Citizen (private account): Twitter accounts of possible ordinary citizens, who are considered in this research as a foreign audience, but, as their accounts are private, it is not possible to verify their status as such.
- PRC or Taiwan citizen: Twitter accounts of citizens of PRC or Taiwan origin; which, for this research, are not considered as a foreign audience.
- Influencers: Twitter accounts of public figures, not only in Latin American and Caribbean countries but also globally. Like citizens, for this research they are also considered as foreign audience. These include writers, activists, musicians, politicians, businessmen, actors, etc.).
- Content amplifiers: Twitter accounts belonging to people who are dedicated to publishing promotional content about PRC politics, economy, culture, tourism, etc.
- BOT: Twitter accounts managed by computer programs for the purpose of carrying out specific actions intended to create content in favor of the PRC.
- Suspended or eliminated account: Twitter accounts that are no longer available because they have been eliminated or suspended for violating the platform’s policies.
- PRC Government: Twitter accounts of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China and its spokespersons, as well as the accounts of the representatives and diplomatic representations of the PRC, in LAC and in other countries. Also included are the Twitter accounts belonging to other PRC government bodies, their spokespersons, and territorial entities
- PRC Media and promotion sites: Twitter accounts, in different languages, of the PRC state-owned media (press, radio and television). Also included are the Twitter accounts of websites dedicated to the promotion of news on PRC economic, political, and cultural issues internationally.
- PRC Companies: Twitter accounts of PRC companies, their subsidiaries and representatives, in LAC and globally.
- LAC governments and governmental entities: Twitter accounts belonging to LAC Heads of State and Government. Also included are the Twitter accounts of national, regional, and municipal ministries and other governmental entities and their representatives. This category also includes the Twitter accounts of the respective Legislative Assemblies and their members.
- LAC media: Twitter accounts of the media (press, radio, and television) of Latin American and Caribbean countries, as well as the Twitter accounts of journalists affiliated to them.
- LAC Private companies and organizations: Twitter accounts of companies created in LAC, and their representatives. Also included in this category are the Twitter accounts of private, non-profit organizations in various fields (sports, cultural, productive, professional, etc.), created in LAC in order to promote, develop, and protect the activities to which they are dedicated, as well as the Twitter accounts of their members and representatives.
- LAC Research and higher education centers: Twitter accounts of multidisciplinary and non-profit research centers that promote research and academic debate on different topics, created in LAC, as well as those of their members and representatives. Also included are the Twitter accounts of public and private higher education centers in LAC, along with those of their members and representatives.
- PRC-LAC binational organizations: Twitter accounts of binational non-profit organizations and their representatives, engaged in promoting and strengthening dialogue and exchange in different sectors such as politics, trade and investment, and culture, between the PRC and LAC (i.e., Chambers of Commerce and Binational Business Councils, among others).
- Foreign governments: Twitter accounts of governments and government entities, along with their representatives, from countries other than LAC.
- Foreign media: Twitter accounts of media (press, radio, and television) other than those of LAC.
- Foreign companies: Twitter accounts of companies created in countries other than LAC, along with their representatives.
- Multilateral organizations, forums, and platforms: Twitter accounts, in different languages, of the different regional and global multilateral organizations, forums and platforms.