Russel Sage Foundation

While scholarship often links attitudes towards police to demographic variables such as race, class, and age, sentiments towards police change over time. For example, surveys have shown that changes in sentiment towards police closely track the political cycle. Online media can drive moments of polarization during electoral cycles by amplifying and politicizing issues at a time when media consumption is high. Political scientist Shelley Liu and sociologist Tony Cheng will examine what aspects of online media shape polarization towards police. They will draw on three data sources: (1) community sentiment data from New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles, (2) engagement data with media articles across online platforms, and (3) an original survey experiment. Their study will build on emerging research on the social politics of policing and media.