Toxic Speech and Collective Engagement: Evidence from Roe v. Wade Fallout

This study examines how toxicity in connective action movements impacts the public's collective engagement that manifests through interactions on social media postings. We use the case of the 2022 Roe v. Wade fallout and examine the toxicity in the Instagram image and text postings made by pro-life and pro-choice groups. Our analysis focuses on four temporal events encompassing the pre- and post-Roe v. Wade eras. The results suggest that while both groups post toxic content, the toxicity is more in images than in text postings. Further, toxicity in text reduces interactions, although the patterns vary between the two groups across the temporal events and content type. This study contributes to connective action literature by providing insights into toxic speech in opposing movements. The findings might inform social media platforms to design better techniques and processes for detecting and demoting toxicity that would otherwise deter the pursuit of social movements.