In the lead-up to the election, insults and hate reached a fever pitch, particularly surrounding high-profile events, such as Hurricane Sandy and the presidential debates. In one example, Impermium researchers discovered one troller that posted over 6,600 messages in 15 days, to just a few articles. In the 24-hours post-election, aside from a brief barrage from some racist sore-losers, social media was largely free of this type of malicious and abusive commentary.
On November 7th, users mentioned the President more than twice as often as Governor Romney, and of these posts, merely 2% contained insults or profanity. Though the number of Obama’s mentions containing abusive language exceeded those of Romney (slightly less than 2:1), Romney had a higher percentage of mentions with this type of content, at 2.6%. These low numbers are in stark contrast to just a few weeks ago, when insulting nicknames were thrown left and right, and activity slurring Obama exceeded those against Romney by nearly five times [see more about election campaign insults].
Throughout the presidential campaign, users have grasped onto certain words and phrases, particularly Romney’s gaffes about “binders full of women” and “47% of Americans”. This is no exception for trolls, who actively follow trending events and phrases. When searching for mentions of binders and Romney, the pickin’s were slim. However, Romney and 47% yielded a much higher number, with 13 times as many mentions, and nearly 6% containing abusive language. This isn’t surprising given that Romney’s now infamous comment had an awareness of over 80% with registered voters; “binders full of women” had awareness of only 50%, according to Romney campaign advisor, Tammy Frisby, in a post-election NPR interview. So even though overall trolling and spamming activity was low – the active ones stuck to what they knew best.
Why were spammers and trolls quiet in the day post-election? Maybe after months of active commentary, they were bored with the subject, or tired from their undoubtedly busy posting schedule on election day. Though with trolls and spammers’ continued ability to adapt to current events, it’s more likely that they’ve already moved on to the next big story.
For more on trolling, check in after Thanksgiving for a more detailed look into the history and activity of online trolls.
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