Navigating Negative Emotions: The Role of Negativity Bias in Digital Activism

Abstract

This study investigates the influence of negativity bias in digital activism (e.g., #BlackLivesMatter, #AllLivesMatter, and Nike’s #TakeAKnee campaigns). Analyzing over 3.5 million tweets across a decade, the research highlights how predominantly negative emotions, such as anger and disgust, shape public perceptions in the context of social justice movements and brand involvement in social issues. The results from a robust methodological framework, using social media analytics and advanced sentiment analysis tools like VADER and the TTL transformer model, showed that negative emotions significantly impact the overall sentiment of African Americans and companies like Nike. Specifically, anger within the #BlackLivesMatter and #AllLivesMatter discourses negatively related to overall sentiment toward African Americans, while emotions such as sadness in the #TakeAKnee discussions positively related to overall sentiment toward Nike. Also, expressions of disgust within #AllLivesMatter and #TakeAKnee were associated with positive perceptions of African Americans. In contrast, positive emotions such as joy, and the neutral emotion of surprise showed no significant effects. These results underscore the dual impacts of negativity bias in digital activism, indicating the need for strategies to mitigate its effects and enhance the effectiveness of digital campaigns.