Pew Research Center Study Sheds Light On The President’s Twitter Usage

President Donald Trump has been occupied by the Oval Office and his daily usage of social network Twitter. A recently published study by the Pew Research Center revealed that stories from many news outlets were about Trump’s published tweets.

The first year in office can be characterized as contentious and at times polarizing. When the media covers the Trump Administration, the stories will have a narrative that is unfavorable.

As the Pew Research Center study asserts “During the early days of his administration, stories that included his tweets stood out from those that did not. They were more likely to have a negative assessment of the administration´s words and actions and to include a challenge by the journalist to something Trump or a member of his administration said.”

The analysis stems from more than 3,000 stories across 24 media outlets. In addition, one out of every six stories (16 percent) about the current administration included a tweet from the first 100 days in office. Coincidentally, the survey analysis factored in whether statements from journalists were positive or negative.

What seems eye-catching from the Pew study was the stories that included a tweet were more likely to have a negative assessment of his cabinet or had at least twice as many negative statements as positive ones. In other words, 54 percent of stories about a tweet of POTUS had a negative assessment.

On the other hand, when a story did not include a tweet negative assessment was 42 percent. This is a 12 percent drop compared to 54 percent of including a live Trump tweet. With regards to the positive assessment of the commander and chief, the stories that featured a tweet were favorable 7 percent of the time. When the news story excluded the President’s tweet just 12 percent were positive in assessing his dealings.

In Trump’s first 100 days, news stories citing his tweets were more likely to be negative https://t.co/BADG0tdBmw pic.twitter.com/r7MZUAu9it

— Pew Research Center (@pewresearch) October 19, 2017

Trump’s usage of social media has garnered a lot of attention because of his statements and claims made specifically on Twitter. During the campaign trail, he used Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram to connect successfully with voters. Compared to his predecessor Barack Obama, he too depended on social media websites to spread his messages to his base of followers during his two terms in office. However, he tailored his message differently depending on the platform, and Obama´s first year in office was a sharp contrast to Trump´s first year at the White House.

The big takeaway from this robust study includes one noteworthy similarity in the stories about POTUS. The Pew concluded that a significant majority for both of those stories with a tweet and those without it. Consequently, news organizations targeted their coverage around character, leadership, and ignored policy.

[Featured Image by Evan Vucci/AP Images]