Beyond the Stats: Realities, Perception, and Social Media Discourse on Poverty.

This article explores the complex nature of poverty and its portrayal on social media. The authors analyze data on poverty statistics, perceived poverty, and poverty-related social media discourse in the United States. They find that individuals in more impoverished counties perceive themselves as poorer, but poverty-related discussions on social media are not prevalent in counties with higher poverty levels. The study emphasizes the importance of understanding poverty beyond economic indicators and provides insights for economic research. Additionally, the study reveals a correlation between perceived poverty and a county's Republican vote share, suggesting a political alignment among those who perceive themselves as poor. The article also highlights that social media discussions on poverty occur more frequently in urban counties and may perpetuate stereotypes and racialization of poverty. [Extracted from the article]

Copyright of AEA Papers & Proceedings is the property of American Economic Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)