Nat Hum Behav May 2023 PMID 36928780

Negativity drives online news consumption.

Claire E Robertson, Nicolas Pröllochs, Kaoru Schwarzenegger, Philip Pärnamets, Jay J Van Bavel, Stefan Feuerriegel

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Mentions

277

Peak: 98 in Dec 2024

across 7 sources since Mar 2023

Extended reach

181,665

potential audience

Total likes

177

Video views

3,905

Mentions per month

Mar 2023 – Aug 2025

Where it's discussed

X / Twitter113 posts
News113 articles
Reddit20 posts
Blogs11 articles
Bluesky10 posts
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AI synopsis

What people are saying

Discussions reflect a consensus that negativity in headlines boosts online engagement, exemplified by phrases like 'each additional negative word increased the click-through rate by about 2.3%,' which shows engagement with detailed findings. The tone is analytical and somewhat skeptical about algorithmic reinforcement of negativity, emphasizing both interest and concern about societal effects.

AgreementStrong agreement

Most discussions affirm the article's findings, emphasizing that negative words increase online engagement, which aligns strongly with research conclusions.

InterestModerate interest

Posts show moderate curiosity, with some recognizing the relevance but not expressing strong enthusiasm or disagreement.

EngagementModerate engagement

Participants reference specific research details, such as a 2.3% increase per negative word, indicating they are actively considering the content and its implications.

ImpactHigh impact

The exchanges highlight how understanding negativity's role in content consumption can influence media strategies and user behavior, suggesting a significant societal impact.

Abstract in brief

Negative words in news headlines tend to boost online news clicks, while positive words tend to decrease them, meaning negativity drives more engagement.
The study analyzed over 105,000 different news story variations from Upworthy, which together garnered 57 million clicks, showing the significant impact of wording on reader behavior.
Despite positive words being slightly more common, the presence of negative words in headlines was more effective in attracting users, with each negative word increasing click rates by about 23%.]

Read the full abstract

All mentions

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Understanding Negativity Bias and Strategies to Overcome Doomscrolling

Recently I've been unable to get off my phone when I start looking at the news it usually begins with one story and then before I know it its been half an hour and I've gone down the rabbit hole. This episode explores…

The Modern Maze · Feb 12, 2025 0 views

Co-Think

@CoThinkProject · X

Warum laufen dystopische Videos besser als utopische auf YouTube? https://t.co/qU0EDdKMTL via @YouTube

Aug 1, 2025 · 2 followers View post →

hexawow

@hexawow · X

Negativity drives online news consumption - "Although positive words were slightly more prevalent than negative words, we found that negative words in news headlines increased consumption rates (and positive words decreased consumption rates)" https://t.co/uKET9vV01t

Jul 18, 2025 · 25 followers View post →

MashStars

@MashStarsGaming · X

I know it isn't the best choice for user retention. But it'd be nice if the X algorithm didn't double down on negativity farming users. The normie ReplyGuys are going to give themselves an aneurysm by hate stalking accounts. https://t.co/DHB8XUW23Y Game theory favors equivalent

Jul 11, 2025 · 2,877 followers View post →

Institute for Replication

@i4replication.bsky.social · Bluesky

2-Negativity Drives Online News Consumption, Nature Human Behaviour @nathumbehav.nature.com Report and authors' response here: osf.io/cyb24/.

May 5, 2025 · 1 share View post →

I4R

@I4Replication · X

2-Negativity Drives Online News Consumption, Nature Human Behaviour @nathumbehav.nature.com Report and authors' response here: https://t.co/UVCV2mrsgN. https://t.co/2A9SqucIlE

May 5, 2025 · 2 likes · 6,471 followers View post →

NEP-BIG: Big data

@repec-nep-big.bsky.social · Bluesky

A Comment on "Negativity Drives Online News Consumption": Reiss, Michael V.; Roggenkamp, Hauke

Apr 8, 2025 View post →

NEP-CMP: Computational Economics

@repec-nep-cmp.bsky.social · Bluesky

A Comment on "Negativity Drives Online News Consumption": Reiss, Michael V.; Roggenkamp, Hauke

Mar 21, 2025 View post →

NEP-EXP: Experimental Economics

@repec-nep-exp.bsky.social · Bluesky

A Comment on "Negativity Drives Online News Consumption": Reiss, Michael V.; Roggenkamp, Hauke

Mar 11, 2025 View post →

NEP-INV: Investment

@repec-nep-inv.bsky.social · Bluesky

A Comment on "Negativity Drives Online News Consumption": Reiss, Michael V.; Roggenkamp, Hauke

Mar 10, 2025 View post →

Giuseppe De Giorgi

@giudegio · X

[Research] Negativity drives online news consumption - Nature Human Behaviour For a headline of average length, each additional negative word increased the click-through rate by 2.3%. https://t.co/tCIp8N6vaB

Jan 13, 2025 · 716 followers View post →

DGF

@Pakalolowaiwai · X

RT @grahamfarrar: Something to keep in mind as we head into 2025… “…each additional negative word increased the click-through rate by 2.3%…

Jan 1, 2025 · 1 share · 872 followers View post →

Graham Farrar

@grahamfarrar · X

Jan 1, 2025 · 7 likes · 1 share · 6,739 followers View post →

Bruno Boutot

@boutotcom · X

#journalisme Non-non-non-non-non! Each additional negative word in a news headline drives 2.3% more clicks. (“Negativity drives online news consumption“) https://t.co/Y17j5HhyrD Via Kent Hendricks @kenthendricks

Dec 30, 2024 · 1,762 followers View post →

Lone Commoner2023

@Communi3006 · X