Democrat or Republican? – Pepsi or Coke?

As a not so disinterested outsider to the United States (my wife is American and her family is split evenly between Republicans and Democrats), I despair at the political polarization in that country and the complete inability of Democrats to deal with Republicans and vice versa. At least here in the UK, we have a sense of humour about it and I can still go and have a beer with a hard Brexiteer after I cursed at him for an hour…

But the partisanship and divide in the United States seemingly go well beyond politics and the type of news organisation one considers reliable. Verena Schönmüller and her colleagues have analysed 150 million Twitter accounts in the United States to see what news sources, consumer good brands, and non-profit organisations people associate with depending on their political preferences. 

Of course, followers of the Republican Party accounts on Twitter are also often followers of Fox News and the Drudge Report, and in the financial news sphere, they often follow Fox Business and MarketWatch. Democrats, meanwhile, are followers of MSNBC and Vox. 

But what is surprising is how different their preferences are for consumer brands. Democrats are apparently Hulu-watching, Lyft-riding city dwellers who keep their money in Vanguard index funds. Republicans, on the other hand, appear to be Chick-fil-A-eating, golf-playing older people who manage their retirement accounts mostly with Fidelity rather than Vanguard. 

Differences in consumer brands following on Twitter between Republicans (left) and Democrats (right)

Source: Schönmüller et al. (2019).

If you look at the chart below, taken from their paper, you see that Republicans and Democrats really do live in two different worlds. They are as different as Pepsi and Coke (quite literally it seems). And it seems that the acrimony between them is just as intense as the one between Coke and Pepsi drinkers. Both are essentially the same, but somehow, we think that the tiny differences are the most important thing in the world. I hope we can all come together after the election and leave our differences behind. They may look stark, but if both sides make an effort, we can get along.

Most preferred brand of Republicans and Democrats on Twitter

Source: Schönmüller et al. (2019).