Us vs. Them: Moral, Cognitive and Affective Language in Group Identity Tweets

Ideological groups leverage Twitter (now X) to cultivate strong group identities that sustain membership and foster intergroup hostility. Their positions may differ on the left-right political spectrum and on their propensity for violence. Although all ideological groups develop strong group identities, research suggests that the language used to develop these identities may vary across different types of groups. This study investigates the use of affective, cognitive, and moral language in group identity tweets – those tweets that include first- and third-person plural pronouns (e.g., “us”, “them”) – from diverse ideological groups. This study found that nonviolent groups use trust and positive emotions more than violent groups in group identity tweets, whereas violent groups use discrepancy to a greater extent. Left-leaning groups use care (virtue and vice) to a greater extent than right-leaning groups, and the latter use sanctity (virtue) more. Implications of these findings are discussed.