Emotion shapes the diffusion of moralized content in social networks

TLDR

Social media platforms such as Twitter have reshaped historical events and become a ubiquitous forum for moral and political discourse, yet moral psychology has not yet examined why some moral ideas spread more widely than others. The study analyzed a large sample of social media posts on polarizing policy debates, finding that moral‑emotional language boosts message diffusion within ideological groups. Moral‑emotional language significantly increases diffusion of political messages within ideological groups, providing insight into how moral ideas spread in real political discussions.

Abstract

Significance Twitter and other social media platforms are believed to have altered the course of numerous historical events, from the Arab Spring to the US presidential election. Online social networks have become a ubiquitous medium for discussing moral and political ideas. Nevertheless, the field of moral psychology has yet to investigate why some moral and political ideas spread more widely than others. Using a large sample of social media communications concerning polarizing issues in public policy debates (gun control, same-sex marriage, climate change), we found that the presence of moral-emotional language in political messages substantially increases their diffusion within (and less so between) ideological group boundaries. These findings offer insights into how moral ideas spread within networks during real political discussion.