PUBLIC PERCEPTIONS AND REACTIONS TO POLITICAL MESSAGING ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Abstract

Social media has transformed political communication by enabling political parties, candidates, governments, activists, and citizens to exchange messages in real time and at large scale. Unlike traditional media, social media allows political messages to be personalized, interactive, visual, and algorithmically distributed, which significantly shapes how the public perceives political actors and reacts to their messages. This paper examines public perceptions and reactions to political messaging on social media, with particular attention to trust, credibility, emotional response, engagement, polarization, and misinformation. Drawing on recent scholarship, the paper argues that public reactions to political messaging are not determined solely by the message content, but also by platform design, emotional framing, prior political beliefs, perceived authenticity, and the broader digital information environment. The paper concludes that social media political messaging is a double-edged phenomenon: it can stimulate participation, awareness, and mobilization, yet it can also intensify cynicism, outrage, selective exposure, and ideological division. The study contributes to the understanding of digital political communication by synthesizing the major factors that shape public opinion and response in online spaces.