Why we're skeptical of the emotions we see on our screens

If you've poured your heart out on social media about a political issue, it might have felt cathartic—but likely was not persuasive, Cornell research finds. Americans are skeptical of emotional comments they see in their news and social media feeds, political scientist Talbot Andrews and co-authors report in a new monograph, "Emotions on Our Screens," part of the Cambridge Elements in Politics and Communication series. Over six experiments involving nearly 6,400 participants, viewers questioned the sincerity of fear or sadness people expressed about climate change in simulated news reports, text messages and TikTok posts. Such comments were rated as less authentic and appropriate than more neutral ones—even when the observer agreed politically with the speaker.