Political predispositions, not popularity: people’s propensity to interact with political context on Facebook
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Political predispositions, not popularity : people’s propensity to interact with political context on Facebook. / Pedersen, Rasmus T.; Anspach, Nicolas M.; Hansen, Kasper M.; Arceneaux, Kevin.
In: Journal of Elections, Public Opinion and Parties, Vol. 34, No. 1, 2024, p. 1-17.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Political predispositions, not popularity
T2 - people’s propensity to interact with political context on Facebook
AU - Pedersen, Rasmus T.
AU - Anspach, Nicolas M.
AU - Hansen, Kasper M.
AU - Arceneaux, Kevin
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2021 Elections, Public Opinion & Parties.
PY - 2024
Y1 - 2024
N2 - Social media users are not just potential consumers of political content they are also potential producers and distributors. In this paper, we test whether political predispositions or the popularity of posts best explains users’ engagement with political content on Facebook. Using a large-scale survey deployed in Denmark, we utilize a 2 × 2 × 3 survey experiment that manipulates the partisan sponsor of a political message, the number of likes attributed to that message, and the nature of the comments attached to that post. Our findings indicate that individuals are most likely to like, comment, and share political content that aligns with their political predispositions, as the choice to like, share and comment political content on Facebook is largely unaffected by likes and comments from other users. Though we recognize the dangers of obstinacy in democratic discourse, we are somewhat assured by these findings, as it shows that those who engage with political content do not follow a blind herd mentality.
AB - Social media users are not just potential consumers of political content they are also potential producers and distributors. In this paper, we test whether political predispositions or the popularity of posts best explains users’ engagement with political content on Facebook. Using a large-scale survey deployed in Denmark, we utilize a 2 × 2 × 3 survey experiment that manipulates the partisan sponsor of a political message, the number of likes attributed to that message, and the nature of the comments attached to that post. Our findings indicate that individuals are most likely to like, comment, and share political content that aligns with their political predispositions, as the choice to like, share and comment political content on Facebook is largely unaffected by likes and comments from other users. Though we recognize the dangers of obstinacy in democratic discourse, we are somewhat assured by these findings, as it shows that those who engage with political content do not follow a blind herd mentality.
KW - experiments
KW - political attitudes
KW - Political news
KW - social media
U2 - 10.1080/17457289.2021.1952209
DO - 10.1080/17457289.2021.1952209
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:85110876599
VL - 34
SP - 1
EP - 17
JO - Journal of Elections, Public Opinion, and Parties
JF - Journal of Elections, Public Opinion, and Parties
SN - 1745-7289
IS - 1
ER -
ID: 277229958