Why Do People Share Political Information on Social Media?

Abstract

This study investigates factors predicting political information sharing on social media in the election context. Specifically, the current study examines how users’ six motivations for political information sharing and exposure to political disagreement on social media predict their political information sharing behaviors. Analyses of national survey data collected before the 2018 U.S. midterm election suggest that criticism, informing, and socialization motivations, but not expression, awareness, and self-promotion motivations, positively predict political information sharing on social media. Individuals are more likely to share political information when they are exposed to information that is disagreeable. This relationship is stronger among individuals with higher epistemic political efficacy and lower political knowledge.