Made in America: the Effects of Political Advertising in Social Media on Attention and Participation

Online social media advertising has become an important part of political campaigns in the last several election cycles. The use of negative emotions in advertising has also increased, and debate continues on the effects of this trend. I deploy a field experiment to test the role of negative emotional messages delivered via social media on attention and participation. The results of my research demonstrate a need for greater attention to the nuances of campaign media and emotional appeals