Trends in Pro-Gun Control Tweets Surrounding a Mass Shooting Event Suggest Time-Dependent Changes in Public Response

Abstract

Over the period from May 25, 2015 to May 25, 2018, there were 1,296 mass shootings recorded around the United States. This article evaluates overall public support for gun regulation before and after a major mass shooting. Big data that accounted for outliers and other potential skewing points were included from Twitter. 250 Tweets that occurred immediately before, immediately after, or two weeks after a major mass shooting were analyzed. The Tweets were restricted to include at least one of the following hashtags (#): secondamendment, neveragain, shooting, NRA, guncontrol, gunviolence, and 2A. The Tweets were categorized as pro-gun control, anti-gun control, or neutral, defined by operational definitions. It was hypothesized that there would be more Tweets that opposed gun control 1-7 days before each mass shooting but fewer Tweets that opposed gun control 72 hours after each mass shooting. Three days (72 hours) after a major mass shooting, there was a significant decrease in the number of anti-gun control Tweets posted compared to 1-7 days prior to the shooting. There was also a significant increase in the number of anti-gun control Tweets 14-21 days after the mass shooting compared to 72 hours after the shooting, implying that the content of Tweets after two weeks was similar to the content before the shooting occurred.