Open AccessPartisan Provocation: The Role of Partisan News Use and Emotional Responses in Political Information Sharing in Social Media
Author(s) -
Hasell A.,
Weeks Brian E.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
human communication research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.002
H-Index - 89
eISSN - 1468-2958
pISSN - 0360-3989
DOI - 10.1111/hcre.12092
Subject(s) - anger , politics , presidential election , social media , social psychology , presidential system , psychology , news media , information sharing , political science , public relations , information dissemination , law , computer science , world wide web
Citizens increasingly rely on social media to consume and disseminate news and information about politics, but the factors that drive political information sharing on these sites are not well understood. This study focused on how online partisan news use influences political information sharing in part because of the distinct negative emotions it arouses in its audience. Using panel survey data collected during the 2012 U.S. presidential election, we found that use of proattitudinal partisan news online is associated with increased anger, but not anxiety, directed at the opposing party's presidential candidate and that anger subsequently facilitated information sharing about the election on social media. The results suggest partisan media may drive online information sharing by generating anger in its audience .