Sharing Is Caring! Investigating Viral Posts on Politicians’ Facebook Pages During the 2014 General Election Campaign in Hungary

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe study investigates 25 viral posts during the Hungarian general election campaign in 2014. These are posts whose numbers of shares were much higher than the average shares of their posters’ posts. The study addresses the question of what kind of content may go viral and how this happens. First, it investigates the most specific and common features of the content of these posts. Second, the way they are shared and the effects they may evoke within personal networks are examined. Results show the prominence of negativity, undistorted message transmission, and a low reactivity level to the shares.