Part of the Job? The Effect of Exposure to the Online Intimidation of Politicians on Political Ambition

Abstract

It is increasingly common for politicians to experience online harassment. Even though numerous studies show the prevalence and impact of online abuse towards politicians, the broader societal impact of this phenomenon is understudied. This study focuses on the deterring effect that witnessing online abuse towards politicians could have on bystanders, testing to what extent online intimidation influences the appeal of political office. This pre-registered project examines whether exposure to abusive or sexist Twitter comments towards politicians weakens the interest of UK citizens, women especially, in pursuing political office. We hypothesized that seeing intimidating Twitter comments addressed to politicians leads to less political ambition in bystanders, especially if their gender identity aligns with that of the targeted politician. Sexist abusive comments were expected to have a greater impact on women participants than non-gendered abusive comments. The findings show that citizens are generally not easily deterred by exposure to abuse. However, we find differential effects that are concerning for political participation and female representation. There is evidence that sexist comments do discourage women observers. Respondents also generally espouse very negative expectations about the online experience of political aspirants.