In a shift, more Republicans now say calling people out on social media represents accountability

A majority of U.S. adults (56%) say that those who call out others on social media for posts that might be considered offensive are mainly holding people accountable for their actions. A smaller share (40%) say those who do this are more likely to punish people who didn’t deserve it.

Both in 2022 and 2020, Democrats were more likely than Republicans to see users posting these callouts as mainly holding people accountable. Today, however, the partisan gap in these views has essentially disappeared.

Views have shifted in both parties – with the starkest change among Republicans.

How we did this

Pew Research Center conducted this study to assess Americans’ views about people calling out others on social media. For this analysis, we surveyed 3,445 U.S. adults from Sept. 22 to 28, 2025. Everyone who took part in this survey is a member of the Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP), a group of people recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses who have agreed to take surveys regularly. This kind of recruitment gives nearly all U.S. adults a chance of selection.

Interviews were conducted either online or by telephone with a live interviewer. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education, presidential vote (among voters) and other factors. Read more about the ATP’s methodology.

Here are the questions used for this analysis, the topline and the survey methodology.

Among Republicans

Republicans and Republican-leaning independents are more likely than they were in 2022 to view calling people out on social media as accountability (56% today, up from 34% then). At that time, Republicans largely saw this behavior as unjust punishment (62% then, vs. 41% today).

Among Democrats

Today, 59% of Democrats and Democratic leaners say those who call out others are holding people accountable for their actions, down from 65% in 2022 and 75% in 2020. In turn, the share of Democrats who view calling people out on social media as unjust punishment has risen to 38% from 32% in 2022 and 22% in 2020.

The survey by Pew Research Center, conducted Sept. 22-28 among 3,445 U.S. adults, was conducted a few weeks after the murder of conservative political commentator and activist Charlie Kirk on Sept. 10.

Modest demographic differences in views of calling out others on social media

Across demographic groups, majorities view calling people out on social media for potentially offensive content as a form of accountability, with relatively modest differences by gender, age, and race and ethnicity.

Gender

Women are more likely than men to say that when people publicly call out others on social media, they are more likely to hold people accountable for their actions (60% vs. 53%). Shifts among both men and women over the past few years have been driven largely by party identification.

Age

There are no major differences in these views by age group.

Race and ethnicity

Seven-in-ten Asian adults (70%) see calling out others on social media as a form of accountability, compared with 65% of Black adults, 58% of Hispanic adults and 54% of White adults.

Race and ethnicity, by party

Across racial and ethnic groups, Republicans have become more likely to say calling out others on social media holds people accountable for their actions, while Democrats have become less likely to say this.

In 2020, for instance, 37% of White Republicans said calling out others on social media holds people accountable for their actions. Today, 55% say this.

By contrast, 74% of White Democrats said in 2020 that calling people out on social media represents accountability. Today, 55% hold this view – identical to the share among White Republicans.

Note: Here are the questions used for this analysis, the topline and the survey methodology.