RESTON, VA -- The Media Research Center (MRC) today released a new poll, conducted by McLaughlin & Associates, specifically looking at conservatives’ attitudes towards the social media platform, Twitter.
According to the poll, almost half of the conservatives (49 percent) surveyed do not trust Twitter to treat all of its users equally, regardless of their political beliefs. That’s nearly three times as many (16.7 percent) who trust Twitter.
Nine percent of conservatives said that they stopped using Twitter because of its conservative censorship, while another 11 percent said that they were considering leaving for the same reason. Out of those conservatives polled who actually use Twitter, this counts as almost half of conservative Twitter users.
When it came to trusting Twitter, more than a third of conservatives polled (34 percent) answered that their trust in the social media company had gone down since last year. Despite Twitter’s efforts to clean up its platform and promote “healthy conversation,” only 6 percent of conservatives were on board with CEO Jack Dorsey’s efforts, saying that their trust in Twitter had gone up since last year.
MRC Vice President Dan Gainor stressed that Twitter and all the social media firms need to realize conservatives no longer trust them. “Conservatives moved online because of the bias they encountered in old media. The last thing they wanted was more bias, but that’s what they got,” he explained. “Now, it’s up to companies like Twitter to fix the problems they created.”
Highlights from the research:
(Asked of self-described conservatives)
Do you TRUST Twitter to treat all of its users equally, regardless of their political beliefs?
Yes: 16.7%
No: 49.0%
Not Sure: 34.3%
Is your TRUST in Twitter greater than, less than, or the same as it was one year ago?
Greater than it was a year ago: 6.3%
Less than it was a year ago: 34.2%
The same as it was a year ago: 59.5%
Which of the following BEST describes your position regarding Twitter?
I stopped using Twitter because of their censorship of conservatives: 9.7%
I am considering leaving Twitter because of their censorship of conservatives: 10.9%
I either stopped using Twitter or am considering leaving the platform for another reason: 9.5%
I am currently a Twitter user, and I am NOT considering leaving the platform: 17.8%
I have never used Twitter: 52.0%
Methodology:
This survey of 1,000 likely general election voters nationwide was conducted on September 18-24, 2018.
All interviews were conducted online; survey invitations were distributed randomly within predetermined geographic units. These units were structured to correlate with actual voter turnout in a nationwide general election.
This poll of 1,000 likely general election voters has an accuracy of +/- 3.1% at a 95% confidence interval. The accuracy of the responses from the 351 self-described conservatives is +/- 5.2% at a 95% confidence interval.
