Negativity drives online news consumption

Online media is important for society in informing and shaping opinions, hence raising the question of what drives online news consumption. Here we analyse the causal effect of negative and emotional words on news consumption using a large online dataset of viral news stories. Specifically, we conducted our analyses using a series of randomized controlled trials (N = 22,743). Our dataset comprises similar to 105,000 different variations of news stories from Upworthy.com that generated similar to 5.7 million clicks across more than 370 million overall impressions. Although positive words were slightly more prevalent than negative words, we found that negative words in news headlines increased consumption rates (and positive words decreased consumption rates). For a headline of average length, each additional negative word increased the click-through rate by 2.3%. Our results contribute to a better understanding of why users engage with online media.

Automated summary

Online media plays a crucial role in society, and understanding the factors that drive online news consumption is important. In this study, we examined the causal effect of negative and emotional words on news consumption using a large dataset of viral news stories. Our analysis, based on randomized controlled trials with over 22,743 participants, showed that the presence of negative words in news headlines increased consumption rates, while positive words decreased consumption rates. Each additional negative word in an average-length headline led to a 2.3% increase in click-through rates. These findings contribute to a better understanding of user engagement with online media.