STUDY: Liberal Universities Show Liberal Bias Even In Tweets

We know that many top universities have a liberal bias, but according to a new study, that bias shows up even in their tweets.

Andrew Selepak, a researcher at the University of Florida, analyzed more than 1,000 tweets sent by the top 25 and bottom 25 universities on the U.S. News and World Report’s 2016 college ranking. He found that more than 80% of the tweets were politically neutral, but tweets that included political statements by the top 25 schools were overwhelmingly liberal, according to Campus Reform’s Toni Airaksinen.

“Among the elite universities, for example, Selepak documented 87 pro-liberal tweets in comparison to 30 pro-conservative tweets, whereas less prestigious colleges sent out more politically balanced tweets: 35 liberal tweets compared to 30 conservative-leaning tweets,” Airaksinen wrote.

Examples of political tweets included messages about speakers coming to campus, events and new research. Selepak told Campus Reform that this might not necessarily be a conscious bias on the part of university marketing teams, but rather reflective of what was actually happening at the typical liberal campuses. He also acknowledged how small his sample size was and suggested larger analysis “might be different.” Still, his initial study may show that universities could be turning conservative and Christians away from them.

“When academia is seen by large groups of people as biased and partisan, trust in institutions of higher learning falters, and with it, trust in science,” he told Campus Reform. “If political and Christian conservatives and Republicans see academic institutions as biased, pro-liberal, and anti-Christian, this could impact how they view the science produced.”