Trump shooting and Biden exit flipped social media from hostility to solidarity
15 days ago
- #group dynamics
- #political psychology
- #social media
- Research shows political crises shift viral online content from 'outgroup hate' to 'ingroup love'.
- During the 2024 US election, major crises like the Trump assassination attempt and Biden's campaign suspension increased engagement for posts expressing unity and shared identity.
- Republican posts signaling unity saw a 53% increase in engagement after the Trump assassination attempt, while attacks on Democrats decreased by 23 percentage points.
- Democrat posts expressing solidarity saw a 91% increase in engagement after Biden's campaign suspension, with a 71 percentage point rise compared to before the event.
- A 2021 study by the same lab found that social media posts criticizing rival groups typically receive twice as many shares as posts championing one's own side.
- A similar trend was observed in Ukraine after Russia's invasion, with 'ingroup solidarity' posts receiving significantly more engagement.
- The study suggests that in times of crisis, group unity becomes more important than hostility towards opposing groups on social media.