Partisan Selective Engagement: Evidence from Facebook

57 Pages Posted: 12 Dec 2019

See all articles by Marcel Garz

Marcel Garz

Jonkoping University - Jonkoping International Business School (JIBS)

Jil Wortelker

Hamburg Media School

Daniel F. Stone

Bowdoin College - Department of Economics

Date Written: 2019

Abstract

This study investigates the effects of variation in "congeniality" of news on Facebook user engagement (likes, shares, and comments). We compile an original data set of Facebook posts by 84 German news outlets on politicians that were investigated for criminal offenses from January 2012 to June 2017. We also construct an index of each outlet's media slant by comparing the language of the outlet with that of the main political parties, which allows us to measure the congeniality of the posts. We find evidence that users engaged with congenial posts more than with uncongenial ones, especially in terms of likes. The within-outlet, within-topic design allows us to infer that the greater engagement with congenial news is likely driven by psychological and social factors, rather than a desire for accurate or otherwise instrumental information.

Keywords: filter bubble, media bias, political immunity, social media, polarization

JEL Classification: D830, D910, L820

Suggested Citation

Garz, Marcel and Wortelker, Jil and Stone, Daniel F., Partisan Selective Engagement: Evidence from Facebook (2019). CESifo Working Paper No. 7975, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3502022 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3502022

Marcel Garz (Contact Author)

Jonkoping University - Jonkoping International Business School (JIBS) ( email )

Jönköping, 55111
Sweden

Jil Wortelker

Hamburg Media School ( email )

Hanburg, 22081
Germany

Daniel F. Stone

Bowdoin College - Department of Economics ( email )

Brunswick, ME 04011
United States
6463387833 (Phone)

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