Abstract
Social media (SM) platforms such as Facebook and Twitter (now ‘X’) have become primary sources of crime news information for many, with SM being used by both news organisations and police agencies as a means of information dissemination. As such, the sentiment of comments made on SM posts can provide a useful snapshot of attitudes about crime and justice. The present study examines whether sentiment on crime and policing-related posts differs between information sources. A sentiment analysis of comments made in response to crime and policing-related posts on Facebook and Twitter (X) from January to May 2022 was conducted. Sentiment scores of comments made on Australian news publishers’ posts were compared with comments made on the Western Australian Police Force’s posts. Overall, comments made on news posts were negative in sentiment whilst comments made on police posts were positive. This finding was true for all crime-related posts, as well as across subcategories of violent crime, non-violent crime and policing-focused comments. The distinct differences in sentiment expressed between the two information sources highlight how news and police audiences respond differently to crime and policing-related content on SM. Such differences in sentiment between the two groups pose implications for how SM users perceive issues of crime, justice and police legitimacy. Further research may examine other state police SM pages as sentiment is likely to differ across jurisdictions and socio-cultural contexts.