“If It Bleeds, It Leads”: Negative Words in Headlines Elicit Greater Engagement with News Stories

Virtual · May 2021

Posters · Social Psychology

Claire Robertson
New York University
Philip Pärnamets
Karolinska Institutet
Jay Van Bavel
New York University

Abstract

To examine negativity bias in the news, we test the influence of negative words on news engagement using a massive, causal database of news stories. We find the presence of negative words in headlines significantly increases the likelihood of engagement with news stories, even after adjusting for story content.

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“If It Bleeds, It Leads”: Negative Words in Headlines Elicit Greater Engagement with News Stories

Abstract

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