Race and identity play into the media platforms people use to advocate their politics, data show. 

Why it matters: People of color and Democrats are more likely to take to social platforms like Twitter to advocate for a cause, and to say that seeing something on social media changed their views. Republicans are increasingly turning to partisan outlets on TV, print and audio.

Details: In a Pew Research poll from this summer, Democrats were more than twice as likely as Republicans to post a hashtag for a political or social issue.

• Black social media users were twice as likely as white users to say they used a hashtag to promote a social or political issue on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or any other social media site.
• Nearly half (48%) of all Black social media users say they have posted a picture on social media to show their support for a cause in the past month, compared with 37% of Hispanic users and 33% of white users.
• The survey also found that Black adults who use social media (45%) are also much more likely than their Hispanic (33%) or white (30%) counterparts “to say that in the past month they’ve taken to social media to encourage others to take action on issues that are important to them.”

The Intrigue: Mexican Americans and Native Americans especially seek…