What happened: A new poll by Pew Research shows a significant shift in how U.S. Republicans and Democrats view Twitter. Two years ago, a majority of Republican users believed the platform had a negative impact on democracy. Now, following Elon Musk's takeover, their views have become more positive while the views of Democrats are more negative.
What the numbers say: The percentage of Republican and Republican-leaning users who believe that Twitter is mostly bad for democracy dropped from 60% in 2021 to 21% in 2023, while the percentage of those who believe it's mostly good for democracy increased from 17% to 43%. Conversely, the share of Democratic and Democratic-leaning Twitter users who believe Twitter is good has fallen from 47% to 24%.
Details: Despite these changes, more Twitter users across party lines now believe the platform has no impact on democracy. In addition, the poll also showed a partisan divide over misinformation, harassment, and civility on Twitter. Democratic users are now more likely than Republicans (68% v 37%) to say inaccurate or misleading information is a problem.
Why it matters: According to JM Berger, a social media extremism researcher, Twitter's content moderation has shifted in favor of the far-right since Musk took over. The billionaire has been vocal about preserving free speech on the site and has reinstated banned users, such as former President Donald Trump. However, many critics have voiced concerns about the rising amount of hate speech, misinformation, and other problematic content post-Musk.
