Terror across borders, politics at home: Political influencers navigating diasporic threat and political identity on social media
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Terror attacks occurring in one jurisdiction can shape the perceived political attitudes of populations in a separate jurisdiction—through diasporic ties or the mediation of political discourses via social media. This study examines how left‐ and center‐leaning Jewish influencers addressing American audiences perceived and expressed the impact of the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7, 2023, on their political attitudes and messaging in the context of the 2024 US Presidential election. This study implemented a three‐pronged digital ethnographic approach: digital observation on Instagram, 15 in‐depth interviews, and digital fieldwork analyzing interviewees' political posts in the lead‐up and aftermath of the election. Findings reveal heterogeneity of political attitude and orientation in the face of transnational terror and perceived threat to Jewish life—from preference falsification to single‐issue voting and calls for bipartisanship. Rather than describing a political transformation away from liberal or progressive thought, interviewees described a refocusing of political energy around Jewish safety. This study argues that the transnational threat of October 7, compounded by feelings of political abandonment domestically, was accompanied by a process of attitudinal navigation—complicating expectations of in‐group solidarity, threat‐to‐conservatism pathways, and the strategic communication of political influencers as emergent opinion leaders on social media.
Source: Political Psychology
DOI: 10.1111/pops.70222
Author: Gabrielle D. Beacken
Institution: The University of Texas at Austin
Language: English
Topic: Social Media and Politics
Subfield: Communication
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $4,250
OpenAlex ID: W7225654820