Intensified Online Opinion Clashes with Salient Group Identity

Xintong Han () and Mantian Mandy Hu ()
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Xintong Han: Concordia University and CIREQ, Department of Economics, 1455 Boulevard de Maisonneuve Ouest, Concordia University, Montreal, H3G 1M8, Canada
Mantian Mandy Hu: Chinese University of Hong Kong, School of Business, Shatin, NT, Hong Kong, SAR

No 21-04, Working Papers from NET Institute

Abstract: We collect data from Hong Kong’s foremost news media outlets’ Facebook pages from 2019 to 2020 to examine clashes of opinion on the social media platform. We find that specific writing habits signify users’ backgrounds and elicit group segregation cues from readers. An increase in pro-police comments written in Simplified Chinese induces a more polarized reaction from the opposite side compared with comments written in Traditional Chinese. The opposite side produces more anti-police comments and demands for regional independence in response. However, content generated by suspected internet water armies alleviates the clashes. The results reveal the factors that affect opinion polarization on social media platforms. They demonstrate the need for debiasing intervention and regulation.

Keywords: social media; ideological clashes; protest; writing habits (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D71 L82 P48 P51 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 40 pages
Date: 2021-04
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-pay and nep-ure
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