Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/316704 
Year of Publication: 
2025
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 17749
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
We study how preferences for migration-related narratives differ between private and public contexts and how social media fuel opinion polarization. Using a German representative sample (n=1,226), we found that individuals, especially from the left and center, avoided publicly endorsing anti-migration narratives. In an experiment on Twitter (n=19,989) we created four Twitter profiles, each endorsing one of the narratives. Far-right users exhibited markedly different engagement patterns. While initial public endorsements, measured by follow-back rates, aligned with private preferences, social media interactions amplified support for the most hostile and polarizing narrative. We conclude that social media significantly distort private preferences and amplify polarization.
Subjects: 
immigration
narratives
political polarization
economic reciprocity
survey experiment
field experiment
group identity
social media
Twitter
JEL: 
D72
D91
C93
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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