The impact of information interventions on public opinion on social media regulation: Evidence from a survey on Twitter's Trump Ban

摘要

There has been a heated debate on the desirability of and the procedure justice concerning Twitter's Trump Ban. Using online survey data with student subjects, we investigate how information shapes people's attitude on Twitter's Trump ban. We find that people's attitude can be significantly influenced by the information they receive. Our result shows that information related to public safety concerns and the explanation about free speech in Section 230 increases the support for the Trump Ban. Information about European Leaders' concerns about the Trump Ban and information that may generate negative sentiment toward Twitter lead to a lower support rate for the Trump Ban. Information that may generate negative sentiment towards Trump does not lead to a higher support rate for the ban in the full sample, but only among the Chinese Communist Party members.