Online comments can shape how political social media content is perceived
Why it matters: Online comments can shift how 11,000+ people interpret political messages, including sexism and misinformation.
- Professor Florian Stoeckel from the University of Exeter led two large research projects demonstrating that comments underneath social media posts influence audience interpretation of the original message.
- The research specifically examined how user responses impact the perception of social media posts challenging gender equality and those containing false information.
- Counter-arguments that explain why a post is sexist or correct misinformation are crucial, as the study found no single strategy (e.g., appealing to fairness, empathy, or humor) consistently outperformed others across topics and countries.
A new study involving over 11,000 respondents across five European countries reveals that online comments significantly shape how political social media content is perceived, even when individual attitudes are stable. While direct persuasion in polarized debates is difficult, the way people interpret messages, including sexist or misleading communication, remains flexible and influenced by surrounding online chatter.
