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Slanted images: Measuring nonverbal media bias

Author

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  • Boxell, Levi

Abstract

I build a dataset of over one million images used on the front page of websites around the 2016 election period. I then use machine-learning tools to detect the faces of politicians across the images and measure the nonverbal emotional content expressed by each politician. Combining this with data on the partisan composition of each website’s users, I show that websites portray politicians that align with the partisan preferences of their users with more positive emotions. I also find that nonverbal coverage by Republican-leaning websites was not consistent over the 2016 election, but became more favorable towards Donald Trump after he clinched the Republican nomination.

Suggested Citation

  • Boxell, Levi, 2018. "Slanted images: Measuring nonverbal media bias," MPRA Paper 89047, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:89047
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    File URL: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/89047/1/MPRA_paper_89047.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gregory J. Martin & Ali Yurukoglu, 2017. "Bias in Cable News: Persuasion and Polarization," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(9), pages 2565-2599, September.
    2. Matthew Gentzkow & Jesse M. Shapiro, 2010. "What Drives Media Slant? Evidence From U.S. Daily Newspapers," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 78(1), pages 35-71, January.
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    Cited by:

    1. Aromi, J. Daniel & Clements, Adam, 2021. "Facial expressions and the business cycle," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    media bias; images; emotions; nonverbal; polarization;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C0 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - General
    • H0 - Public Economics - - General
    • L82 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Entertainment; Media
    • L86 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Information and Internet Services; Computer Software

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