This summary is provided by IPR based on the original study in the Social Media + Society journal
Dr. Jieun Shin and colleagues examined how political elites from both political parties communicated about mask-wearing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
An analysis of Twitter posts by political elites in 2020 was conducted.
Key findings include:
- Republican members of Congress were less likely to promote mask-wearing than their Democratic counterparts.
- A small number of Republican members of Congress also shared anti-mask opinions on their accounts.
- Republicans’ lack of mask-wearing promotion was associated with their loyalty to then-President Donald Trump rather than their party norms.
- For Democrats, promoting mask-wearing was associated with their party norms.
- Republicans who interacted with Democrats were more likely to promote mask-wearing and vice versa.
Find out more about mask-wearing as a means to share political party norms
