Why are Yahoo comments sections a cesspool for right-wing fanatics?

[gmb92]

Posted in the Media section...

It's been that way for years and I've been fairly curious about it. Most comments on any politically-oriented topic on Yahoo articles are from right-wing fanatics, and comments supporting their talking points often get 10 to 1 or 50 to 1 thumbs up vs thumbs down, incredibly skewed compared to the balance of public opinion (elections, health care, gun control, Ferguson). What are the reasons? Other comments sections (such as CNN) have heavy right-wing skew but typically not as bad.

Some possibilities:

1. Reason: Paid shills with multiple accounts quickly posting talking points and thumbing them up, in an effort to influence public opinion by having the "popular" comments be inane right-wing talking points. If so, why are there few paid shills on the left to do a similar thing? Anyone have inside info on this?

2. Reason: Those with Yahoo accounts heavily skew to the far right. If so, why?

3. Reason: Those with extremist right-wing views tend to be more vocal to begin with, and most want their opinions heard and approved of, more than those on the left. Then why is Yahoo so much worse?

4. Reason: Yahoo news feeds end up funneling political articles to right-wingers based on their previous clicks, so they are mostly read by them. This would support the notion that the far right is more interested in politics.

5. Reason: Right-wingers have much more time on their hands.

6. Reason: Positive feedback loop. Some combination of 1-5 gives right-wingers an edge in presence, and all the thumbs ups just encourages them more, while the quick thumbs down and insults discourages moderates/progressives, resulting in the much larger ratios noted above.

What weight would you give to these reasons and what others would you include?

Any studies done on this?

Edit:

RationalWiki has a useful article on the topic.

http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Yahoo!_News

[upaloopa]

1. They don't have any kind of social life or social

skills. After all what can you do all day in your mom's basement?

[ChairmanAgnostic]

2. Bingo

Plus, they are just a bunch of yahoos.

Once upon a thyme, I would post and read there, but as the seasons changed, I made like a tree and leaved.

[I_stand_4_oranges]

3. Because they are YAHOOOOOS!! n/t

[Blue_Tires]

4. You must not visit youtube

and I know you weren't on AOL back in the day...

[meow2u3]

5. Another reason: right-wingers set up multiple sock puppets

This way, it looks as if Yahoo is flooded by RWNJs galore when in fact a few of them set up hundreds, if not thousands, of sock accounts.

[Hoyt]

6. There are a lot more of them out there than we think.

Some of the other explanations certainly apply, but there are just a lot of hateful, selfish, racist people in this country.

[GeorgeGist]

7. Yahoos ...

[Xyzse]

8. I don't think it is any of that.

Huge reason that such places get inundated is because younger folk skew towards social media sites that don't involve politics as much.

They are also more vociferous and want to be proven right, so they will just go on acting like a huge gas-bag. I.E. Limbaugh.

Many such as myself just don't see the point in arguing with such idiocy. They would not listen, and many prefer not to have that grief.
There is no reasoning to some of them, and so they dominate the conversation. That is sad, but that tends to be how things are.

They are also more likely to bring up politics than most. They tend to also follow matters like a religion.
They have a set of belief and want inclusion, so they have a proselytizing bent to their matters. They are relentless and would not give up on their points even when it has been proven wrong countless times. You will find articles not even remotely based on politics suddenly get political comments, it is quite ridiculous.

1 - Paid Shills are a definite, since they need talking points, and the rest are mere repeaters.
2 - I have a Yahoo account that I never use. Yahoo is also an old site, much of the younger internet users have never had to use a Yahoo account, as such, the ones that used it are from the 90s, and the ones that took over are the older ones, it is like AOL in a way, the young migrated out of it, and so what is left are the older ones who can't change.
3 - I just mentioned this in my initial posting, and then add it with point number 2, that just compounds it.
4 - Due to the prior reasons, it just adds to that too.
5 - I think both spectrums have equal amounts of free time. We just spend it differently.

[yeoman6987]

9. Liberals are here reading articles and don't

Need to go to Yahoo. We get all the news we need here. Conservatives obviously get their news from Yahoo.

[snoopies622]

10. makes me want to barf

I have noticed this as well. Perhaps the owners of Yahoo themselves have similarly reactionary views and make sure that most sane, rational comments are filtered out.