Short Video News Consumption Linked to Ronaldo Preference

A preprint study released in late May, titled "Political identity beyond politics: The Messi-Ronaldo preference across 26 countries," surveyed over 10,000 adults in 26 nations. Researchers discovered that individuals identifying as more liberal tended to favor Lionel Messi, while those identifying as more conservative leaned towards Cristiano Ronaldo. A significant differentiator identified was the frequent consumption of short-form video news, which was found to be associated with a preference for Ronaldo. In contrast, the consumption of traditional news media did not emerge as a significant predictor for either preference.

Saifuddin Ahmed, the lead author of the paper, stated that this finding extends beyond the Messi-Ronaldo debate, offering insights into how different distribution environments influence audiences over time, irrespective of specific content. The research, which also involved Kokil Jaidka and Muhammad Ehab Rasul from the National University of Singapore, and Teresa Gil-López from Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, gained considerable attention online, with posts about the study accumulating millions of views on platforms like Instagram Reels and TikTok.

Ahmed noted the interesting feedback loop where the platform most associated with Ronaldo preference became the primary channel for disseminating research about this very association. He suggested that the algorithm itself identified the research on algorithms as highly shareable. This observation raises broader questions for journalists and the news industry regarding the impact of algorithmic content distribution on audience perception and preference, particularly with the increasing dominance of short-form video formats.