The Returns to Viral Media: The Case of US Campaign Contributions

Johannes Boken, Mirko Draca, Nicola Mastrorocco and Arianna Ornaghi

No 18337, CEPR Discussion Papers from C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers

Abstract: Social media has changed the structure of mass communication. In this paper we explore its role in influencing political donations. Using a daily dataset of campaign contributions and Twitter activity for US Members of Congress 2019-2020, we find that attention on Twitter (as measured by likes) is positively correlated with the amount of daily small donations received. However, this is not true for everybody: the impact on campaign donations is highly skewed, indicating very concentrated returns to attention that are in line with a ‘winner-takes-all’ market. Our results are confirmed in a geography-based causal design linking member’s donations across states.

Keywords: Twitter; Campaign contributions; Social media (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D72 P00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023-07
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Working Paper: The Returns to Viral Media: The Case of US Campaign Contributions (2023)
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