Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 14, 2025
06:42
Continuous Theta Burst Stimulation of the Posterior Medial Frontal Cortex to Experimentally Reduce Ideological Threat Responses
Published on: September 28, 2018
11.6K
Understanding anti-immigration sentiment spreading on Twitter
Andrea Nasuto1, Francisco Rowe1
1Department of Geography and Planning, Geographic Data Science Lab, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom.
Plos One
|September 4, 2024
Summary
Online polarization on immigration is high. Anti-immigration content on social media spreads faster and is driven by a small, active group, suggesting targeted interventions could reduce sentiment.
Area of Science:
- Social Sciences
- Computational Social Science
- Media Studies
Background:
- Public discourse on immigration is highly polarized, with social media significantly shaping public opinion and potentially fueling offline tensions.
- Understanding the dynamics of online discussions is crucial for addressing societal divisions related to migration.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the extent of polarization in UK immigration-related tweets.
- To identify key creators and disseminators of immigration content on social media.
- To assess the speed of content dissemination within different immigration communities.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of 220,870 immigration-related tweets from the UK.
- Quantitative assessment of online polarization, user activity, and content spread.
- Identification of influential users and communities within the discourse.
Main Results:
- Significant online polarization exists between pro- and anti-immigration communities.
- The anti-migration community is smaller but more active and dense, with a small percentage of users driving a large proportion of content.
- Anti-immigration content disseminates 1.66 times faster than pro-immigration content, with minimal bot influence.
Conclusions:
- Targeting and monitoring highly active users in anti-immigration communities may effectively curb sentiment.
- Interventions focused on influential users could help mitigate social polarization and shape public attitudes toward migration.
- The study highlights the critical role of social media in shaping contemporary immigration debates.
Related Concept Videos
02:55Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination
90.1K
Humans are very diverse and although we share many similarities, we also have many differences. The social groups we belong to help form our identities (Tajfel, 1974). These differences may be difficult for some people to reconcile, which may lead to prejudice toward people who are different. Prejudice is a negative attitude and feeling toward an individual based solely on one’s membership in a particular social group (Allport, 1954; Brown, 2010). Prejudice is common against people who...
90.1K
01:01Group Polarization
34.2K
Group polarization is the strengthening of an original group attitude following the discussion of views within a group (Teger & Pruitt, 1967). That is, if a group initially favors a viewpoint, after discussion the group consensus is likely a stronger endorsement of the viewpoint. Conversely, if the group was initially opposed to a viewpoint, group discussion would likely lead to stronger opposition.
34.2K
01:31In- and Out-Groups
39.0K
People all belong to a gender, race, age, and social economic group. These groups provide a powerful source of our identity and self-esteem (Tajfel & Turner, 1979) and serve as our in-groups. An in-group is a group that we identify with or see ourselves as belonging to.
39.0K
02:16Surveys
14.7K
Often, psychologists develop surveys as a means of gathering data. Surveys are lists of questions to be answered by research participants, and can be delivered as paper-and-pencil questionnaires, administered electronically, or conducted verbally. Generally, the survey itself can be completed in a short time, and the ease of administering a survey makes it easy to collect data from a large number of people.
14.7K
01:27Ethnic Identity within a Larger Culture
30
Adolescents from ethnic minority backgrounds face a multifaceted journey in forming their identities, shaped by the intersections of cultural expectations and personal exploration. For these adolescents, identity formation involves not only typical developmental challenges but also navigating the perceptions and attitudes of the majority culture. As they grow, adolescents in ethnic minority groups often become increasingly aware of stereotypes, social biases, and discrimination, all of which...
30
01:41Social Traps
22.3K
Social traps are negative situations where people get caught in a direction or relationship that later proves to be unpleasant, with no easy way to back out of or avoid. The concept was orignally introduced by John Platt who applied psychology to Garrett Hardin's "Tragedy of the Commons", where in New England herd owners could let their cattle graze in the common ground. This situation seems like a good idea, but an individual could have an advantage. If they owned...
22.3K