{"id":9307,"date":"2021-01-15T15:59:56","date_gmt":"2021-01-15T20:59:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/%year%\/%monthnum%\/%day%\/how-lawmakers-social-media-activity-changed-in-the-days-after-the-u-s-capitol-riot\/"},"modified":"2024-04-13T23:44:02","modified_gmt":"2024-04-14T04:44:02","slug":"how-lawmakers-social-media-activity-changed-in-the-days-after-the-u-s-capitol-riot","status":"publish","type":"short-read","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2021\/01\/15\/how-lawmakers-social-media-activity-changed-in-the-days-after-the-u-s-capitol-riot\/","title":{"rendered":"How lawmakers\u2019 social media activity changed in the days after the U.S. Capitol riot"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Social media activity by members of Congress changed in notable ways following the Jan. 6 rioting at the U.S. Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of lawmakers\u2019 Facebook and Twitter posts in the days after the breach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Below is a closer look at how members\u2019 posts \u2013 as well as their followers\u2019 reactions to those posts \u2013 changed between Jan. 6 and Jan. 10, 2021. The analysis is part of a larger <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/2020\/07\/16\/congress-soars-to-new-heights-on-social-media\/\">body of research<\/a> that the Center has conducted in recent years into the way members of Congress use social media. This analysis is based on public posts from lawmakers\u2019 official, campaign and personal accounts, and includes freshman members of the 117th Congress unless otherwise noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n<div style=\"border-width:1px;padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);--block-gap: inherit\" class=\"wp-block-prc-block-collapsible js-react-collapsible is-style-alternate has-background has-ui-beige-very-light-background-color has-border-color has-ui-beige-dark-border-color\" id=\"how-we-did-this\" data-wp-interactive=\"{&quot;namespace&quot;:&quot;prc-block\\\/collapsible&quot;}\" data-wp-context=\"{&quot;collapsibleId&quot;:&quot;how-we-did-this&quot;,&quot;isOpen&quot;:false}\" data-wp-class--is-open=\"context.isOpen\" data-wp-init--scroll-into-view=\"callbacks.onInitScrollIntoView\"><div class=\"wp-block-prc-block-collapsible__title\" data-wp-on--click=\"actions.onClick\"><div>How we did this<\/div><button class=\"wp-block-prc-block-collapsible__icon\"><span data-wp-bind--hidden=\"context.isOpen\"><i class=\"icon icon-library__light icon__circle-plus\"><svg style=\"width: 1em; height: 1em;\"><use xlink:href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/plugins\/prc-icon-library\/build\/icons\/sprites\/light.svg#circle-plus\"><\/use><\/svg><\/i><\/span><span data-wp-bind--hidden=\"!context.isOpen\" hidden><i class=\"icon icon-library__light icon__circle-minus\"><svg style=\"width: 1em; height: 1em;\"><use xlink:href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/plugins\/prc-icon-library\/build\/icons\/sprites\/light.svg#circle-minus\"><\/use><\/svg><\/i><\/span><\/button><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-prc-block-collapsible__content\">\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Members of Congress engage in extensive communications and public outreach on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. To conduct this analysis, Pew Research Center collected every Facebook post and tweet created by every voting member of Congress between Jan. 1, 2015, and Jan. 10, 2021. The analysis includes official, campaign and personal accounts. Researchers also identified Parler accounts appearing to belong to members of Congress in November 2020. These accounts were found by searching for members of Congress by name, searching for accounts containing terms like \u201csenator\u201d and \u201crepresentative,\u201d and using Parler\u2019s recommendation system. Here is <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/FT-capitol-attack-methodology.pdf\">the methodology<\/a> for this post.<\/p>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-310-wide\"><a rel=\"attachment wp-att-15902\" href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2021\/01\/15\/how-lawmakers-social-media-activity-changed-in-the-days-after-the-u-s-capitol-riot\/ft_2021-01-15_socialmediacongress_01-png\/\"><img data-dominant-color=\"ececec\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #ececec;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 310px) 100vw, 310px\" height=\"485\" width=\"310\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/01\/ft_2021.01.15_socialmediacongress_01.png?w=310\" alt=\"Lawmakers of each party used distinct language on social media in days following Jan. 6 rioting at U.S. Capitol\" class=\"wp-image-15902 not-transparent\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/01\/ft_2021.01.15_socialmediacongress_01.png 620w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/01\/ft_2021.01.15_socialmediacongress_01.png?resize=192,300 192w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/01\/ft_2021.01.15_socialmediacongress_01.png?resize=259,405 259w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/01\/ft_2021.01.15_socialmediacongress_01.png?resize=200,313 200w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/01\/ft_2021.01.15_socialmediacongress_01.png?resize=260,407 260w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/01\/ft_2021.01.15_socialmediacongress_01.png?resize=310,485 310w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/01\/ft_2021.01.15_socialmediacongress_01.png?resize=420,657 420w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/01\/ft_2021.01.15_socialmediacongress_01.png?resize=160,250 160w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/01\/ft_2021.01.15_socialmediacongress_01.png?resize=320,501 320w\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-has-big-number wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Members of the two parties framed the day\u2019s events at the Capitol using different language.<\/strong> The vast majority of members of Congress in both parties weighed in on the events of Jan. 6 on Twitter or Facebook. All but six lawmakers posted during this period, and 97% of Democrats and 96% of Republicans who did so mentioned the term \u201cCapitol\u201d in at least one post. Nearly as many (90% of Democrats and 88% of Republicans) used the words \u201cviolence\u201d or \u201cviolent.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But beyond these basic similarities, lawmakers from the two parties discussed the events using different language. For instance, congressional Democrats were far more likely than Republicans to use terms such as \u201cterrorism,\u201d \u201cinsurrection,\u201d \u201cmob\u201d and \u201cdemocracy.\u201d And although 95% of Democratic lawmakers mentioned the word \u201cTrump\u201d in at least one social media post during this time period, just 39% of congressional Republicans did so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-310-wide\"><a rel=\"attachment wp-att-15898\" href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2021\/01\/15\/how-lawmakers-social-media-activity-changed-in-the-days-after-the-u-s-capitol-riot\/ft_2021-01-15_socialmediacongress_02-png\/\"><img data-dominant-color=\"f2f1f1\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #f2f1f1;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 310px) 100vw, 310px\" height=\"795\" width=\"310\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/01\/ft_2021.01.15_socialmediacongress_02.png?w=310\" alt=\"Audience engagement with posts from Democratic lawmakers increased after Jan. 6 rioting at U.S. Capitol\" class=\"wp-image-15898 not-transparent\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/01\/ft_2021.01.15_socialmediacongress_02.png 620w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/01\/ft_2021.01.15_socialmediacongress_02.png?resize=117,300 117w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/01\/ft_2021.01.15_socialmediacongress_02.png?resize=399,1024 399w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/01\/ft_2021.01.15_socialmediacongress_02.png?resize=599,1536 599w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/01\/ft_2021.01.15_socialmediacongress_02.png?resize=158,405 158w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/01\/ft_2021.01.15_socialmediacongress_02.png?resize=200,513 200w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/01\/ft_2021.01.15_socialmediacongress_02.png?resize=260,667 260w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/01\/ft_2021.01.15_socialmediacongress_02.png?resize=310,795 310w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/01\/ft_2021.01.15_socialmediacongress_02.png?resize=420,1077 420w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/01\/ft_2021.01.15_socialmediacongress_02.png?resize=125,320 125w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/01\/ft_2021.01.15_socialmediacongress_02.png?resize=250,640 250w\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-has-big-number wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Audience engagement with posts from Democratic lawmakers increased on and after the day of rioting.<\/strong> The median Democratic member of Congress saw a substantial boost in audience engagement on both Facebook (reactions and shares) and Twitter (favorites and retweets) in the days after the violence and destruction at the Capitol. On a day-over-day basis, the increase between Jan. 5 and Jan. 6 was the second-largest ever observed among Democrats since the Center began tracking congressional social media posts in early 2015. The largest <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/2020\/07\/16\/2-congressional-social-media-engagement-driven-by-key-issues-events-and-language\/\">occurred on June 22, 2016<\/a>, when the party staged a <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2016_United_States_House_of_Representatives_sit-in\">\u201cno bill, no break\u201d sit-in<\/a> to demand gun control legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By contrast, the typical Republican member\u2019s audience engagement on both platforms stayed roughly the same or declined slightly (depending on the engagement measure being used) in the period after the attack, albeit from a relatively high baseline. Notably, these declines in audience engagement were largely concentrated among Republicans who objected to the certification of Democrat Joe Biden\u2019s Electoral College victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The average tweet posted by the typical Republican in this group between Jan. 6 and Jan. 10 received 60% fewer favorites and 56% fewer retweets compared with the five days prior to the attack. In contrast, favorites and retweets among the minority of Republicans who voted to proceed with certification more than doubled over this same period. The same trend also occurred on Facebook, where Republicans who voted to certify saw a modest boost in engagement while those who objected experienced a decline in reactions and shares.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-310-wide\"><a rel=\"attachment wp-att-15897\" href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2021\/01\/15\/how-lawmakers-social-media-activity-changed-in-the-days-after-the-u-s-capitol-riot\/ft_2021-01-15_socialmediacongress_03-png\/\"><img data-dominant-color=\"efeeee\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #efeeee;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 310px) 100vw, 310px\" height=\"493\" width=\"310\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/01\/ft_2021.01.15_socialmediacongress_03.png?w=310\" alt=\"Especially sharp increase in comments on Republican lawmakers\u2019 Facebook posts after U.S. Capitol rioting\" class=\"wp-image-15897 not-transparent\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/01\/ft_2021.01.15_socialmediacongress_03.png 620w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/01\/ft_2021.01.15_socialmediacongress_03.png?resize=189,300 189w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/01\/ft_2021.01.15_socialmediacongress_03.png?resize=255,405 255w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/01\/ft_2021.01.15_socialmediacongress_03.png?resize=200,318 200w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/01\/ft_2021.01.15_socialmediacongress_03.png?resize=260,413 260w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/01\/ft_2021.01.15_socialmediacongress_03.png?resize=310,493 310w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/01\/ft_2021.01.15_socialmediacongress_03.png?resize=420,668 420w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/01\/ft_2021.01.15_socialmediacongress_03.png?resize=160,254 160w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/01\/ft_2021.01.15_socialmediacongress_03.png?resize=320,509 320w\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-has-big-number wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>The number of comments and \u201cangry\u201d reactions in response to Republican lawmakers\u2019 Facebook posts surged after the riot.<\/strong> In the days following the attempted takeover of the Capitol, the typical member of Congress received a record-breaking volume of user comments in response to their posts on Facebook. The average number of comments per post for members of both parties reached their highest levels since at least 2015. Republican lawmakers experienced an especially substantial increase in comments during this time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Republican lawmakers also experienced a surge in \u201cangry\u201d reactions to their posts on Facebook. The angry emoji accounted for 17% of all reactions to the typical Republican\u2019s average post on the day after the attack, the seventh-highest level ever observed among Republican lawmakers and the second-highest since 2017. Facebook posts from Democrats did not see a similar increase in angry reactions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-has-big-number wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>A majority of congressional Republicans lost Twitter followers in the wake of the Capitol riot.<\/strong> More than nine-in-ten (93%) of Republican members with at least one Twitter account experienced a net loss in Twitter followers between Jan. 6 and Jan. 10, with the median Republican losing 4% of their followers across all their accounts on the platform. These losses were more pronounced among Republicans who voted against Electoral College certification: These members lost an average of 5% of their followers, compared with 3% among Republicans who voted for certification. By contrast, 98% of Democratic members saw a net <em>increase<\/em> in followers over the same period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These changes in congressional followers came during a period in which Twitter <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.twitter.com\/en_us\/topics\/company\/2021\/protecting--the-conversation-following-the-riots-in-washington--.html\">announced<\/a> the removal of more than 70,000 accounts in an effort to curb the spread of \u201ccoordinated harmful activity\u201d on the platform. However, it is unclear whether or not the drop in followers among Republican lawmakers can be directly attributed to the platform\u2019s actions. Facebook follower counts for legislators in both parties remained relatively stable during this time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-420-wide\"><a rel=\"attachment wp-att-15906\" href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2021\/01\/15\/how-lawmakers-social-media-activity-changed-in-the-days-after-the-u-s-capitol-riot\/ft_2021-01-15_socialmediacongress_04a-png\/\"><img data-dominant-color=\"eeeeee\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #eeeeee;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 420px) 100vw, 420px\" height=\"520\" width=\"420\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/01\/ft_2021.01.15_socialmediacongress_04a.png?w=420\" alt=\"Lawmaker references to COVID-19 pandemic on social media have fallen, even as virus deaths have surged\" class=\"wp-image-15906 not-transparent\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/01\/ft_2021.01.15_socialmediacongress_04a.png 840w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/01\/ft_2021.01.15_socialmediacongress_04a.png?resize=242,300 242w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/01\/ft_2021.01.15_socialmediacongress_04a.png?resize=768,951 768w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/01\/ft_2021.01.15_socialmediacongress_04a.png?resize=827,1024 827w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/01\/ft_2021.01.15_socialmediacongress_04a.png?resize=327,405 327w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/01\/ft_2021.01.15_socialmediacongress_04a.png?resize=200,248 200w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/01\/ft_2021.01.15_socialmediacongress_04a.png?resize=260,322 260w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/01\/ft_2021.01.15_socialmediacongress_04a.png?resize=310,384 310w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/01\/ft_2021.01.15_socialmediacongress_04a.png?resize=420,520 420w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/01\/ft_2021.01.15_socialmediacongress_04a.png?resize=640,792 640w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/01\/ft_2021.01.15_socialmediacongress_04a.png?resize=740,916 740w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/01\/ft_2021.01.15_socialmediacongress_04a.png?resize=160,198 160w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/01\/ft_2021.01.15_socialmediacongress_04a.png?resize=320,396 320w\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-has-big-number wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>As daily COVID-19 deaths reached new highs, lawmakers\u2019 discussion of the coronavirus outbreak continued to decline.<\/strong> The United States recorded more than 1.2 million new COVID-19 cases and 15,000 new deaths in the five days following the Capitol riot. But on lawmakers\u2019 social media accounts, discussion of the pandemic declined substantially. Lawmaker mentions of the terms \u201cCOVID\u201d or \u201ccoronavirus\u201d on Facebook and Twitter dropped to the second-lowest level since March 2020 (with the lowest point occurring in the days following the 2020 election). Indeed, the number of <em>daily deaths<\/em> from COVID-19 has recently surpassed the number of <em>weekly mentions<\/em> of the words \u201cCOVID\u201d and \u201ccoronavirus\u201d on social media by members of Congress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-has-big-number wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>In the months preceding the riot, a number of Republicans in Congress appear to have expanded their social media presence to Parler.<\/strong> The alternative social media platform Parler <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/technology\/2021\/01\/09\/amazon-parler-suspension\/\">became inaccessible<\/a> to the public on Jan. 11, when it was banned from the use of Amazon hosting services after being delisted by the Google and Apple app stores the week before. But prior to that point, a number of congressional Republicans had created accounts on the platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As of Nov. 30, 2020, Pew Research Center had identified as many as 138 accounts that appeared to belong to 108 Republican members of the House and Senate. Meanwhile, the Center identified 59 Republican legislators who mentioned the platform on Twitter or Facebook between September 2018 (when Parler first launched) and Jan. 10, often in an effort to encourage their followers to join them there. In contrast, just three Democratic legislators appeared to have registered accounts on the platform during the same period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These numbers include some Parler accounts that appeared to belong to a legislator but had not yet been officially verified by the platform. However, because the site and its contents are now inaccessible it is impossible to determine the veracity of these accounts \u2013 and also impossible to determine how many other lawmakers joined the platform after Nov. 30.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em><em>CORRECTION (Jan. 25, 2021): The characterization of the historical ranking of recent levels of \u201cangry\u201d reactions to Republican Facebook posts was corrected to account for posts prior to 2020 that&nbsp;had been excluded&nbsp;from the original analysis. (The highest peak for this emoji occurred on May 4, 2017, when the House&nbsp;voted to repeal the&nbsp;Affordable Care Act.)<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Note: Here is <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/FT-capitol-attack-methodology.pdf\">the methodology<\/a> for this post.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Social media activity by members of Congress changed in notable ways following the rioting at the Capitol by supporters of President 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