The FBI’s execution of a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago has driven outsized conservative social media attention, triggering the wide sharing of news stories and driving tens of thousands of new users to former President Trump’s Truth Social app.
Why it matters: Trump faces serious potential legal implications after the FBI's seizure of 11 sets of classified documents from Mar-a-Lago. But in the near term, it’s fueling Republican echo chambers’ defense of him and attacks on the FBI.
Driving the news: Downloads of Trump's Truth Social spiked to nearly 88,000 in the week following the raid — more than any other week (measured Monday-Sunday) since the first two weeks of the app's launch in early May, according to data shared with Axios by Apptopia, a mobile apps analytics firm...
The bottom line: Outrage often leads to higher engagement online.
- "When people seek out information about the raid, most likely they're only looking to corroborate what they already believe, one way or the other," said Ethan Porter, assistant professor of media and public affairs at George Washington University.