Accidentally persuaded: a moderated mediation model of incidental news exposure and political persuasion in social media

In social media, users frequently encounter news accidentally without actively seeking for them. Previous research on incidental news exposure (INE) has primarily examined the potential of this phenomenon to equalize or reinforce gaps in political knowledge and participation. However, the persuasive effects of INE remain underexplored, despite the crucial role of political persuasion in shaping citizens' opinions and fostering changes in government. Drawing on a two-wave panel survey conducted in Spain, our study addresses this gap by proposing a moderated mediation model that explains how users are persuaded on social media following incidental news encounters. Our findings reveal that INE can lead to political persuasion directly and indirectly through cognitive elaboration. Moreover, this indirect effect is moderated by users' belief that they feel more empathy on social media compared to other media, i.e. social media empathy comparative value. Overall, our study suggests that users who stumble upon news on social media are more likely to consider opposing views and change their political opinions accordingly.