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Examining the Role of Online Uncivil Discussion and Ideological Extremity on Illegal Protest
[journal article]
Abstract In recent years, there has been an increased academic interest revolving around the beneficial or pernicious effects of ideological extremity and (uncivil) political discussion over democracy. For instance, citizens’ ideological predispositions and higher levels of political discussion have been lin... view more
In recent years, there has been an increased academic interest revolving around the beneficial or pernicious effects of ideological extremity and (uncivil) political discussion over democracy. For instance, citizens’ ideological predispositions and higher levels of political discussion have been linked with a more active and vibrant political life. In fact, ideological extremity and uncivil discussion foster institutionalized political engagement. However, less explored in the literature remains whether such polarization and uncivil discussions may be related to unlawful political behavior such as illegal protest. This study contends that one of the main drivers of illegal protest behavior lies in online uncivil political discussion, specifically through the normalization and activation of further incivility. We tested this through a two-wave panel data drawn from a diverse US sample and cross-sectional, lagged, and autoregressive regression models. Mediation analysis was also conducted to test whether uncivil online discussion mediated the relationship between frequency of online political discussion and illegal protest engagement. Overall, we found that illegal protest was particularly associated with online uncivil discussion, while ideological extremity and other forms of online and offline discussions seemed to have no effect on unlawful protest over time.... view less
Keywords
protest; political ideology; online media; discussion; political behavior; polarization
Classification
Media Contents, Content Analysis
Political Process, Elections, Political Sociology, Political Culture
Free Keywords
ideological extremity; illegal protest; offline uncivil discussion; online political discussion; online uncivil discussion
Document language
English
Publication Year
2022
Page/Pages
p. 94-104
Journal
Media and Communication, 10 (2022) 4
Issue topic
Protesting While Polarized: Digital Activism in Contentious Times
ISSN
2183-2439
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed