Party loyalty outweighs news quality in politicians' retweets.

When politicians retweet news, they shape what millions of people see and believe. Researchers wanted to know what drives those choices. They studied United States Members of Congress on social media to see why they share certain news stories. They checked whether legislators care more about reliable facts or party loyalty. They found that partisan identity mattered more than anything else. Politicians usually preferred to share links to trustworthy news sites. But that preference faded when tweets mentioned political parties. Negative emotions also drove shares: anger and fear made politicians more likely to retweet posts about their rivals. Anger did the opposite for posts about their allies. Finally, party ideology changed how politicians treated facts. Among Republicans, more extreme members cared less about news trustworthiness. The most extreme Republicans were especially likely to share links from untrustworthy sites. Overall, politicians use retweets to attack opponents and protect allies.

Why it matters

This matters for anyone tracking misinformation. Politicians with large audiences retweet untrustworthy news more when it attacks opponents or fits their party. It shows political elites help false claims spread, which distorts public debate and deepens polarization.

Questions answered