Charting Congress on Social Media in the 2016 and 2020 Elections
The 2020 election featured dramatic increases in lawmaker posts and audience engagement, but less overlap in the sources shared by members of each party.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
The 2020 election featured dramatic increases in lawmaker posts and audience engagement, but less overlap in the sources shared by members of each party.
Only 9% of adult social media users say they often post or share things about political or social issues on social media.
Some 49% of U.S. adults say Donald Trump’s accounts should be permanently banned from social media, while half say they should not be.
Democrats are about 10 percentage points or more likely than Republicans to say they ever use Instagram, Twitter, WhatsApp, LinkedIn or Reddit.
Social media activity by members of Congress changed in notable ways following the rioting at the Capitol by supporters of President Trump.
Voting members of the 116th Congress collectively produced more than 2.2 million tweets and Facebook posts in 2019 and 2020.
80% of Americans say social media platforms are very or somewhat effective for raising public awareness about political or social issues.
Roughly half of Americans think social media companies should be regulated more than they are now, our survey found.
236 members (45%) of the 116th Congress have mentioned “Black lives matter” on Facebook or Twitter dating back as far as Jan. 1, 2015.
53% of U.S. adults who voted in the general election say they engaged in at least 1 of 6 political activities over the past six months.
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