image: Word cloud of 100 words from the samples used in the article with highest Log Odds Ratio.
Credit: Shea et al., 2025, PLOS One, CC-BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Ad hominem attacks are the most common way users confront content they perceive as wrong in comment sections beneath news videos, with over 40% of analyzed comments relying on reputation-based insults to oppose earlier replies
Article URL: http://plos.io/4os0Tkc
Article title: Beyond ad hominem attacks: A typology of the discursive tactics used when objecting to news commentary on social media
Author countries: U.S.
Funding: This research was funded by the National Science Foundation Division of Information and Intelligent Systems (NSF, Funding number: 2106476). Full details at: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2106476&HistoricalAwards=false.
Journal
PLOS One
Article Title
Beyond ad hominem attacks: A typology of the discursive tactics used when objecting to news commentary on social media
Article Publication Date
20-Aug-2025
COI Statement
The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.