Your Facebook Posts About Politics Aren't Making a Difference

Per a new poll, 'Wired' writer reports
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 17, 2016 11:42 AM CDT
Your Facebook Posts About Politics Aren't Making a Difference
In this May 16, 2012, file photo, the Facebook logo is displayed on an iPad in Philadelphia.   (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

Your carefully thought-out Facebook post about why all your friends should vote for a particular candidate may have gotten a lot of "likes," but Wired has bad news for you: "Sorry, But Your Astute Election Posts Aren't Changing Anybody's Mind," it declares in a new article. A recent poll found that 94% of Republicans, 92% of Democrats, and 85% of independents report that a Facebook post has never changed their mind on a political issue.

"So you log onto Facebook and fire off a post pumping Hillary Clinton, defending Donald Trump, or, perhaps, reminding everyone that Jill Stein exists. With each accumulating Like, you feel like you’ve accomplished something, like you’ve awoken the masses from this great national nightmare, and like maybe, just maybe, you’ve even changed some minds," writes Issie Lapowsky. But you haven't—though you might have changed some of your friends' minds about you. The majority of Republicans and Democrats surveyed said they have judged friends based on political social media posts. Click for more from the survey. (More Election 2016 stories.)

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