Summary

Previous research by the Center for Media Engagement found that a sense of common humanity – where people recognize that their own failings are common human experiences – can help bring people together. Now we examine whether this feeling can be fostered with something as simple as a meme. The results of the study show that memes designed to encourage people to think about common humanity helped people feel more positively about people they disagree with politically. This suggests that social media platforms could help bridge divides by prioritizing these types of memes in their algorithms, especially when people are discussing politics.