Democratic congressmembers are more than three times as likely to post on social media following a mass shooting compared to their Republican counterparts, according to a comprehensive new analysis of political discourse in the United States.
The study, published in PLOS Global Public Health, analysed nearly 800,000 posts on X (formerly Twitter) from the 117th US Congress. It reveals that American politicians are not merely disagreeing on gun violence; they are effectively engaging in two entirely separate conversations.
Researchers from New York University found that while Democrats flood the platform with calls for legislation and support for victims, Republicans remain largely silent. When they do speak, the focus shifts almost entirely to law enforcement and Second Amendment rights.
“In this research, we tested a long-running concern: when it comes to gun violence, Americans too often talk past each other instead of with each other,” said senior author Dr Maurizio Porfiri.
1,338 mass shooting incidents
The researchers analysed 785,881 tweets sent between January 2021 and January 2023, a period that saw 1,338 mass shooting incidents across the US.
Despite the frequency of these tragedies, the data shows a stark partisan gap in engagement. Democrats were found to be 3.6 times more likely to post about gun-related keywords — such as “firearm”, “gun” or “2nd Amendment” — following an incident than Republicans.
When Republicans did engage, their “topics of interest” diverged sharply from the immediate tragedy. Using advanced topic modelling techniques, the study found that Republican posts frequently framed the violence within the context of broader crime, law enforcement and constitutional rights, rather than the specific event or victims.
The study identified distinct linguistic fingerprints for each party. Democratic posts were heavily weighted towards terms related to “community”, “families”, “victims” and “legislation”. Their response mechanism appears geared towards policy change and communal grief.
A strategic pivot
In contrast, Republican messaging prioritised “law enforcement”, “crime” and “Second Amendment” protections. The data suggests a strategic pivot: while Democrats use these events to argue for gun control, Republicans use them to argue for stronger policing or to defend existing gun ownership rights.
The analysis also uncovered what drives politicians to the keyboard. The single most significant predictor of a post was the severity of the incident. Mass shootings with higher fatality counts significantly increased the probability of congressmembers posting, particularly if the tragedy occurred within their own state.
However, even high-casualty events failed to bridge the communication gap. The researchers note that this persistent “framing war” makes legislative consensus increasingly challenging to achieve.
“Party identity shaped what they prioritised. Democrats more often centred [on] victims and policy action, while Republicans more often emphasised rights and crime,” Porfiri explained. “When leaders frame the same tragedies so differently, it’s harder to find shared ground for meaningful solutions.”
