Reactions to SCOTUS decision illustrate two Americas on Facebook, Instagram
Social media posts from Michelle Obama to Franklin Graham resonated with Americans mourning - and celebrating - the end of Roe
Americans are more polarized across partisan lines than ever, and our divisions were clearly illustrated this weekend by how Americans reacted to Friday’s Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade on social media. On Facebook, conservatives and Christian groups celebrated and thanked God for the development, while on Instagram, millions shared their outrage and resources for women seeking help.
Reactions on Facebook:
On Facebook, conservative pages and pundits immediately rejoiced at Dobbs v. Jackson. In the immediate aftermath, we noticed posts from prominent conservatives on the platform outperform all others. However, in the days since, several progressive pages have racked up more likes, comments, and reactions than the rest:
Former First Lady Michelle Obama’s viral note mourning the ruling has become the top-performing Facebook post on the issue since Friday. This is a little surprising, considering the conservative tilt of Facebook’s older user base and the consistent viral success of right-wing pages on the platform. Posts from liberal mega-pages The Other 98%, George Takei, and Stand Up America also received high engagement.
On the Right, evangelical activist group Focus on the Family, far-right troll account ForAmerica, and anti-abortion personality Lila Rose had the most engaging posts about the decision. We should note that while only a handful of anti-abortion posts made the top 10 most engaged list, there were many more anti-abortion posts than pro-abortion rights posts among the top 50 relevant Facebook posts. Some of those came from pages like Pastor Greg Locke, Phil Robertson, Donald Trump Jr, and Impeach Joe Biden, among others.
Reactions on Instagram:
While top reactions were mixed on Facebook, on Instagram, users’ overwhelming disagreement with overturning Roe v. Wade was clear. Here were the top-performing public posts by engagement on that platform: