To comment or not to comment: Examining the influences of anonymity and social support on one’s willingness to express in online news discussions

This study examines the effects of online anonymity and different sources of social influence on the Spiral of Silence phenomenon in online news discussions about abortion. The results ( N = 339) substantiated that technical anonymity predicts one’s perceived anonymity, but only the latter significantly increases one’s willingness to post personal opinions in the comment sections. Perceived support from other commenters was also found to reduce...