A new study featured in PNAS Nexus reveals that political speech on social media might be influenced not only by personal ideology but also by who people think is listening. The researchers examined Reddit discussions and discovered that right-leaning individuals are more likely to moralize their political opinions when surrounded by like-minded users. In contrast, left-leaning users tended to express moralized political opinions at similar levels regardless of whether they were engaging with allies or mixed audiences. This finding suggests that social media polarization depends not only on what people believe but also where and to whom they express it.
Partisan moralization — the act of framing political beliefs as moral absolutes and viewing opposing opinions as morally corrupt — plays a critical role in deepening political and social divides. Previous studies have tied this moralization to stronger bias, extreme behavior, and resistance to democratic norms, often pushing people to reject opposing viewpoints entirely.
While earlier research has explored whether left- or right-wing users tend to moralize more, the conclusions have been inconsistent. Much less is known about how these groups behave in different social contexts — for example, among political allies compared to more ideologically mixed groups. This new study set out to understand how the environment shapes moralized political expression, focusing specifically on Reddit’s vast discussion forums.
“Social media platforms are particularly accessible to citizens for discussing politics, often enabling them to express negative views toward the opposing side,” said study author Michalis Mamakos, a postdoctoral fellow at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. “However, it is unclear whether people across the political spectrum feel equally free to express such views. Differences between left-wing and right-wing users in how freely they express their political views could undermine social media platforms’ ability to foster debates on equal terms for all participants.”
The research team used computational analysis to examine Reddit comments from 2006 to 2022. They focused on users who engaged both in partisan subreddits aligned with their ideology (like r/democrats or r/Conservative) and in general-interest subreddits where people from various political backgrounds interact (such as r/Parenting or r/Music).
To assess the overlap between political and moral language, the researchers employed language models known as word embeddings. These models were trained on the comments of four groups — left-leaning users in left-leaning subreddits, left-leaning users in mixed spaces, right-leaning users in right-leaning subreddits, and right-leaning users in mixed spaces — to capture subtle differences in word associations and meaning.
They then created two key dimensions: one for political orientation (left vs. right) and one for moral intensity (moral vs. immoral). Words like “corrupt” or “righteous,” for example, could carry both political and moral connotations. A strong correlation between these dimensions indicated higher levels of partisan moralization.
Their findings showed a clear asymmetry. Left-leaning users consistently linked political and moral language in both partisan and mixed communities, suggesting that they maintained a steady level of moralized expression regardless of context. Right-leaning users, however, modulated their tone. In right-leaning subreddits, their language displayed strong moral-political associations, but this intensity dropped noticeably in mixed-company spaces.
“When drawing conclusions about the state of polarization based on people’s behavior, it may be important to consider the context in which such behavior occurs,” Mamakos told PsyPost. “While left-wing users express polarization to the same extent regardless of social context, right-wing users express polarization more strongly when among like-minded partisans than when among the general public.”
In a deeper analysis, the team differentiated between explicitly political subreddits (such as r/democrats or r/Conservative) and nonpolitical but partisan spaces (like r/vegetarian and r/Hunting). This helped reveal whether the nature of the subreddit influenced expression. Once again, right-leaning users displayed more variation — their moralized partisanship was highest in openly political spaces, while in nonpolitical partisan spaces, their expression mirrored that of left-leaning users. Left-leaning participants, by contrast, showed consistent levels of moralization across both settings.
The researchers also examined how both groups discussed their ideological opponents in mixed subreddits. Left-leaning users tended to use language filled with moral judgment — often referencing themes of religion and oppression — when referring to conservatives. Right-leaning users, however, used more scattered and less moralized language to describe liberals. This difference hints that left-leaning users might view political opposition more through a moral lens, even in apolitical discussions.
“Freedom of speech is a particularly important topic these days, but it becomes compromised when people focus on identities rather than ideas,” Mamakos said. “Disagreements should center on ideas and lead to mutually beneficial solutions, rather than devolving into personal attacks against other discussants.”
While the study sheds light on how partisans communicate in digital spaces, it doesn’t fully explain why these differences exist. The researchers note that conservatives might be more rule-conscious and therefore more inclined to adapt their tone to social norms in general spaces, while liberals may carry a stronger sense of political identity into every conversation.
It’s also unclear whether these behaviors reflect individual tendencies or broader cultural influences. Future studies will be needed to determine whether the same dynamics occur on other platforms or in different demographic groups.
Ultimately, the researchers hope this work helps identify barriers to open dialogue online. “The long-term goal of this line of research is to identify issues that prevent social media platforms from serving as inclusive public spheres and ultimately suggest pathways for resolving such issues,” Mamakos explained.
The study, “Moralizing partisanship when surrounded by copartisans versus in mixed company,” was authored by Michalis Mamakos, Tessa E. S. Charlesworth, and Eli J. Finkel.
