Social media posts are twice as likely to go viral if they are negative about politicians they oppose rather than positive about those they support, a

Political trolling twice as popular as positivity, study suggests

submited by

Style Pass

2021-06-22 02:00:04

Social media posts are twice as likely to go viral if they are negative about politicians they oppose rather than positive about those they support, a Cambridge University study suggests.

"If the post was coming from a Republican and it was referring to [Joe] Biden or the liberals, it was much more likely to go viral than when it was referring to any other topic or an in-group politician," co-author Steve Rathje said.

An unflattering screenshot of the US president, with a caption about his "latest brain freeze", from conservative media outlet Breitbart News, had proved wildly popular, he said.

And a tweet by left-leaning Vermont senator Bernie Sanders: "Donald Trump has lied more than 3,000 times since taking office but Republicans refuse to say Trump is a liar," had been retweeted more than 6,000 times and received about 14,900 "likes".

"Social-media companies desire engagement and virality from us at all costs to produce ad revenue, and we as individuals desire engagement and virality to get our message out or promote a political campaign."