Study Reveals How Political Outrage Drives Social Media Engagement

Research from Tulane University identifies the 'confrontation effect,' where users engage more with content that challenges their beliefs.

Researchers analyzed data from Twitter, Facebook, and online experiments, including during the 2020 U.S. presidential election.
The study found that users are more likely to interact with posts that contradict their views, driven by a phenomenon called the 'confrontation effect.'
Engagement with counter-ideological content is often fueled by outrage, especially when core values are perceived as threatened.
Social media platforms benefit from increased user activity, regardless of whether interactions are positive or negative.
The findings suggest that political campaigns and media organizations could use these insights to manage divisive content and mitigate toxic discourse online.