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I would bet that this is true for whatever the opposite party in power is. The algorithm likes negativity, and it likes notoriety. Therefore, it likes criticism from the other side.

Consider: “[current president] is ugly”

Versus: “[irrelevant nobody] is ugly”

And not only on twitter. Have you seen CNNs ratings lately?

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Where was the negativity for the black and blue dress which looked white and gold? Engagement is the favorite hypocrite media bogeyman but unless advertisers voice concerns/pay otherwise by default it does not have any reason care about it.

If it was just negativity that sold news, and especially the 24-7 loops wouldn't be doing so bad. Ceaseless negativity and similiar are a sugar high for customer interactions. It inflates engagement numbers but it conditions them against using it long term once a breaking point is reached or outside events make them disengage and leave them with no reason to come back.

That's an interesting hypothesis but it wouldn't explain why the data-driven algorithms promote negativity. Perhaps there's another mechanism at work here: e.g. once you've tasted enough sugar in your diet then anything less tastes bitter. Maybe Twitter users walk around addicted to negativity with warped worldviews like the average American walks around addicted to sugar with warped tastes.

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