Political cynicism is rising in many democracies throughout the world. At the same time, people increasingly use social media to access news and political information. However, much of the political content people see on these platforms is hostile, uncivil, and attacking. This study examines whether exposure to these political attacks on social media is associated with political cynicism and, if so, whether negative emotions like anger and anxiety play a mediating role in this process. Using data from a panel survey of American adults ( N = 1,800) collected during the 2020 U.S. presidential election, this study examines whether exposure to political attacks on social media is related to both emotions about the state of the country and political cynicism. Data indicate that people who were exposed to more political attacks on social media were more politically cynical. Further, perceived exposure to political attacks on social media was associated with more anger about the state of the United States, which was subsequently related to greater levels of political cynicism. The results provide evidence that exposure to political attacks on social media might contribute to both negative emotions about the country and political cynicism.

中文翻译：

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当社交媒体攻击时：社交媒体上的政治攻击如何引发愤怒和政治犬儒主义

世界上许多民主国家的政治犬儒主义正在抬头。与此同时，人们越来越多地使用社交媒体来获取新闻和政治信息。然而，人们在这些平台上看到的许多政治内容都是敌对的、不文明的和攻击性的。这项研究探讨了在社交媒体上接触这些政治攻击是否与政治犬儒主义有关，如果是的话，愤怒和焦虑等负面情绪是否在这一过程中发挥中介作用。本研究利用 2020 年美国总统大选期间收集的美国成年人 (N = 1,800) 小组调查数据，探讨社交媒体上遭受政治攻击是否与国家情绪和政治犬儒主义有关。数据表明，在社交媒体上受到更多政治攻击的人在政治上更加愤世嫉俗。此外，在社交媒体上受到政治攻击的感知与对美国国情的更多愤怒有关，这随后又与更高程度的政治犬儒主义有关。研究结果证明，在社交媒体上受到政治攻击可能会导致对国家的负面情绪和政治愤世嫉俗。