Authors
Ashwini Ashokkumar, Sanaz Talaifar, William T Fraser, Rodrigo Landabur, Michael Buhrmester, Ángel Gómez, Borja Paredes, William B Swann Jr
Publication date
2020/11/1
Journal
Journal of Experimental Social Psychology
Volume
91
Pages
104031
Publisher
Academic Press
Description
As ordinary citizens increasingly moderate online forums, blogs, and their own social media feeds, a new type of censoring has emerged wherein people selectively remove opposing political viewpoints from online contexts. In three studies of behavior on putative online forums, supporters of a political cause (e.g., abortion or gun rights) preferentially censored comments that opposed their cause. The tendency to selectively censor cause-incongruent online content was amplified among people whose cause-related beliefs were deeply rooted in or “fused with” their identities. Moreover, six additional identity-related measures also amplified the selective censoring effect. Finally, selective censoring emerged even when opposing comments were inoffensive and courteous. We suggest that because online censorship enacted by moderators can skew online content consumed by millions of users, it can systematically …
Total citations
202020212022202320241214138
Scholar articles
A Ashokkumar, S Talaifar, WT Fraser, R Landabur… - Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 2020