Engaging citizens? The role of negativity and incivility on politicians’ social media

Abstract Studies show that negative social media posts by politicians generate higher levels of citizen engagement, yet not all forms of negativity have the same effects, nor do they operate uniformly across contexts. We therefore examine how different types of political negativity, such as incivility, and the formats in which they are presented, shape citizen engagement on social media across political systems. Analyzing more than 11,000 social media posts from over 60 politicians in Belgium and the United States, we find that personal and uncivil negativity generates more engagement than policy-based and civil negativity. These findings apply across formats, such as videos and status updates, and hold for citizens in both Belgium and the United States. These findings have important implications for understanding which types of negative political communication are most effective in engaging voters online.