Sentiment dynamics and shifts across instances on Mastodon

This study investigates how sentiment shifts unfold on Mastodon, a decentralized social network, during the 2023 Gaza conflict. We examine how the federated structure shapes the spread and transformation of sentiment in crisis-related discourse. We find that posts with broader reach tend to show more volatile sentiment, major conflict events coincide with sharp sentiment changes, and reply interactions often diverge in sentiment from the original post. These findings highlight how decentralized infrastructures mediate sentiment dynamics in online communications.