Like, Share, Comment, Repeat: Social Media Expressive Activities as Response to Far-Right Parties’ Posts

• In Event: Social Media Sharing and Swearing in the 2016 U.S. Election

Abstract

Proliferation and popularity of far-right parties and nationalist sentiments on both sides of the Atlantic sparked interests of scholars in exploring effects of new media on such popularity. This paper advances understanding of individuals’ reaction to messages of far-right parties in social media by assessing emotional response and likelihood to engage in online expressive activities such as liking, sharing, and commenting. Theoretically this research is guided by framing research and online political participation literature, as well as combines these traditions in an online experiment conducted in Ukraine, which recently experienced surge of far-right parties and nationalist sentiments. Preliminary results reveal that people respond more favorably toward far-right messages only when they are concerned with national identity issues; however, individuals prefer moderate positions on other more neutral issues, such as rule of law. Future directions for this study, as well as implications of these findings for future research conclude this paper.

Author

• Larisa Doroshenko, U of Wisconsin-Madison