Dynamics of Polarizing Rhetoric in Congressional Tweets
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6300306 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Andrew O Ballard (0000-0002-1510-4289, American University, corresponding author), Ryan Detamble (American University, corresponding author), Spencer Dorsey (Unaffiliated researcher, corresponding author), Michael Heseltine (0000-0002-2943-4414, American University, corresponding author), Matthew W Johnson (0000-0002-3741-6312, American University), Marcus Johnson (0000-0001-9723-1515, American University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 48 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 105-144 |
| Publication date | 2023-02-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Legislative Studies Quarterly (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0362-9805 • E-ISSN: 1939-9162 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/lsq.12374 |
| OpenAlex | W4211098108 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 37 |
| References cited | 79 |
Affective polarization is pervasive in modern US politics, and can be intensified by strategic messaging from members of Congress. But there are gaps in our knowledge of the dynamics of polarizing appeals from elected representatives on social media. We explore the usage of polarizing rhetoric by members of Congress on Twitter using the 4.9 million tweets sent by members of Congress from 2009 to 2020, coded for the presence of polarizing rhetoric via a novel and highly accurate application of supervised machine learning methods. Fitting with our expectations, we find that more ideologically extreme members, those from safer districts, and those who are not in the president’s party are more likely to send polarizing tweets, and that polarizing tweets garner more engagement, increasing campaign funding for more polarizing members
Computer security · Dynamics (music · Ideology · Linguistics · Media studies · Polarization (electrochemistry · Political science · Politics · Public relations · Rhetoric · SAFER · Social media · Sociology · Computer Science · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Law · Media Influence and Politics · Social Media and Politics
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Vader
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Affective polarization in multiparty systems
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Expressive Partisanship
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| Unique citing works | 37 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 9,25 |
| Citation span | 2022 - 2026 (5) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 36 |