10,000 Social Media Users Can(not) Be Wrong: The Effects of Popularity Cues and User Comments on Sharing Controversial Social Media News Stories

Authors

  • Arjen van Dalen University of Southern Denmark

Keywords:

Facebook, online opinion expression, social influence bias, popularity cues, comments

Abstract

Building on the literature about online opinion expression and social influence biases, this study reports the results of a preregistered experiment of 1,225 Danish Facebook users studying how popularity cues and user comments affect people’s willingness to like, share, and comment on a social media news post about a controversial topic. Exposure to like-minded user comments triggered a spiral of empowerment making it more likely to share posts one agrees with and to speak out in a user comment. This effect was mediated by perceived support among Facebook users. Contrary to the logic of the spiral of silence, reading a discordant post with high popularity cues made people more willing to speak out.

Author Biography

Arjen van Dalen, University of Southern Denmark

Professor WSO at Center for JournalismPhone number: +45 40227625ORCID ID 0000-0001-5785-2245

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Published

2023-02-13

Issue

Vol. 17 (2023)

Section

Articles

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