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Causal Effects of Trigger Words in Social Media Discussions: A Large-Scale Case Study about UK Politics on Reddit

arXiv 2405.10213 ↗First posted 16 May 2024cs.SI cs.CL cs.CYcited by 0

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Abstract (arXiv)

Political debates on social media often escalate quickly, leading to increased engagement as well as more emotional and polarised exchanges. Trigger points (Mau, Lux, and Westheuser 2023) represent moments when individuals feel that their understanding of what is fair, normal, or appropriate in society is being questioned. Analysing Reddit discussions, we examine how trigger points shape online debates and assess their impact on engagement and affect. Our analysis is based on over 100 million comments from subreddits centred on a predefined set of terms identified as trigger words in UK politics. We find that mentions of these terms are associated with higher engagement and increased animosity, including more controversial, negative, angry, and hateful responses. These results position trigger words as a useful concept for modelling and analysing online polarisation.

Key facts. No citing papers in the map yet (data through 14 Oct 2026). Builds on 24 of its 67 references that are in the map. First posted on arXiv 16 May 2024.

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24 of 67 references.

References · 24

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12 more
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