Work

The advantage of the right in social media news sharing

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: We analyze social media activity during one of the largest protest mobilizations in US history to examine ideological asymmetries in the posting of news content. Using an unprecedented combination of four datasets (tracking offline protests, social media activity, web browsing, and the reliability of news sources), we show that there is no evidence of unreliable sources having any prominent visibility during the protest period, but we do identify asymmetries in the ideological slant of the sources shared on social media, with a clear bias towards right-leaning domains. These results support the "amplification of the right" thesis, which points to the structural conditions (social and technological) that lead to higher visibility of content with a partisan bent towards the right. Our findings provide evidence that right-leaning sources gain more visibility on social media and reveal that ideological asymmetries manifest themselves even in the context of movements with progressive goals.

Source: Carolina Digital Repository (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)

DOI: 10.17615/98s7-6r61

Authors: González-Bailón, Sandra, De Domenico, Manlio, Freelon, Deen, d'Andrea, Valeria

Institution: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Language: English

Topic: Social Media and Politics

Subfield: Communication

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: green

Funder: Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences