Journal of the European Economic Association
The Returns to Viral Media: The Case of US Campaign Contributions,
2026-08-07
Social media has created new, highly competitive markets for attention. But to what extent does attention on social media generate tangible economic returns and how are these returns characterized? Using a daily dataset of Twitter activity and campaign contributions for US Members of Congress (2019-2020), we show that attention on Twitter, as measured by likes, increases small donations. However, the effect is highly skewed: only a few members benefit substantially, consistent with a winner-takes-all market. These results are confirmed using a geography-based causal design tracking donation patterns across counties, showing that the increase in donations from attention on Twitter comes disproportionately from high Twitter usage areas.