Insult Politics in the Age of Social Media With Dr. Elliot Motte

Do toxic political posts actually drive engagement? Ryan Davis sits down with Dr. Elliot Motte to discuss his new paper, Insult Politics in the Age of Social Media. Analyzing more than 3 million tweets from 729 members of Congress, Motte found that toxic tweets received 16.8% more likes than non-toxic posts from the same politician. But that engagement boost is strongest among politicians who only occasionally post toxic content. The downside? Toxicity may energize supporters, but it also deepens political polarization without persuading opponents. Links: Influencer Impact: Strategy Edition Substack: https://people1st.substack.com/ RSVP to the webinar: https://events.peoplefirst.cc/ Download the legislative playbook: https://studio.peoplefirst.cc/playbooks/2027-creator-legislative-advocacy Substack Live: https://open.substack.com/live-stream/427999 Dr. Elliot Motte: https://elliot-motte.github.io/ Read the study: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Elliot-Motte/Elliot-Motte.github.io/master/files/03_Insult_Politics/MOTTE_JMP_Insult_Politics.pdf