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PsyPost

The confrontation effect revealed: Outrage over opposing political views fuels social media engagement

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Summary
Nutrition label

76% Informative

New research shows people are more likely to engage with posts that provoke rather than affirm their political beliefs.

This “confrontation effect” is driven by outrage, pushing people to respond to opposing viewpoints.

Researchers used Facebook ’s advertising platform to target U.S. users with different political views.

The researchers tested whether the way a message is framed affects the likelihood of engaging with ideology-inconsistent content.

The researchers measured the engagement rates, including clicks and comments, for each type of post.

They found that posts framed as high-threat (fighting for a cause) generated more engagement from users with opposing views.

VR Score

86

Informative language

93

Neutral language

33

Article tone

informal

Language

English

Language complexity

70

Offensive language

not offensive

Hate speech

not hateful

Attention-grabbing headline

not detected

Known propaganda techniques

not detected

Time-value

long-living

External references

no external sources

Source diversity

no sources

Affiliate links

no affiliate links