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Main Authors: Wei, Chiyu, Noh, Sean, Chang, Ho-Chun Herbert
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2412.18031
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author Wei, Chiyu
Noh, Sean
Chang, Ho-Chun Herbert
author_facet Wei, Chiyu
Noh, Sean
Chang, Ho-Chun Herbert
contents Sentiment analysis of textual content has become a well-established solution for analyzing social media data. However, with the rise of images and videos as primary modes of expression, more information on social media is conveyed visually. Among these, facial expressions serve as one of the most direct indicators of emotional content in images. This study analyzes a dataset of Instagram posts related to the 2024 U.S. presidential election, spanning April 5, 2024, to August 9, 2024, to compare the relationship between textual and facial sentiment. Our findings reveal that facial expressions align with text sentiment, where positive sentiment aligns with happiness, although neutral and negative facial expressions provide critical information beyond negative valence. Furthermore, during politically significant events such as Donald Trump's conviction and assassination attempt, posts depicting Trump showed a 12% increase in negative sentiment. Crucially, Democrats use their opponent's fear to depict weakness, whereas Republicans use their candidate's anger to depict resilience. Our research highlights the potential of integrating facial expression analysis with textual sentiment analysis to uncover deeper insights into social media dynamics.
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publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Faces Speak Louder Than Words: Emotions Versus Textual Sentiment in the 2024 USA Presidential Election
Wei, Chiyu
Noh, Sean
Chang, Ho-Chun Herbert
Social and Information Networks
Sentiment analysis of textual content has become a well-established solution for analyzing social media data. However, with the rise of images and videos as primary modes of expression, more information on social media is conveyed visually. Among these, facial expressions serve as one of the most direct indicators of emotional content in images. This study analyzes a dataset of Instagram posts related to the 2024 U.S. presidential election, spanning April 5, 2024, to August 9, 2024, to compare the relationship between textual and facial sentiment. Our findings reveal that facial expressions align with text sentiment, where positive sentiment aligns with happiness, although neutral and negative facial expressions provide critical information beyond negative valence. Furthermore, during politically significant events such as Donald Trump's conviction and assassination attempt, posts depicting Trump showed a 12% increase in negative sentiment. Crucially, Democrats use their opponent's fear to depict weakness, whereas Republicans use their candidate's anger to depict resilience. Our research highlights the potential of integrating facial expression analysis with textual sentiment analysis to uncover deeper insights into social media dynamics.
title Faces Speak Louder Than Words: Emotions Versus Textual Sentiment in the 2024 USA Presidential Election
topic Social and Information Networks
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2412.18031