Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40714805›Full record

ArticleThe Gerontologist2025

Ageism during the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election: thematic analysis of tweets.

Juanita-Dawne R Bacsu, Ali Akbar Jamali, Alixe Ménard, Dylan Fiske, Megan E O'Connell, Megan Funk, Shirin Vellani, Melba Sheila D'Souza, Florriann Fehr, Jasmine C Mah and 6 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in The Gerontologist, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Trial
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

16 authors.

Juanita-Dawne R BacsuSchool of Nursing, Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada.ORCID 0000-0002-2819-1617
Ali Akbar JamaliDepartment of Computer Science, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.ORCID 0000-0002-6942-5926
Alixe MénardInterdisciplinary School of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.ORCID 0000-0002-5509-8960
Dylan FiskeDepartment of Science, Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada.ORCID 0009-0009-4358-6682
Megan E O'ConnellDepartment of Psychology & Health Studies, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.ORCID 0000-0001-6159-4322
Megan FunkSchool of Nursing, Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada.ORCID 0009-0001-8306-4629
Shirin VellaniToronto Rehabilitation Institute, University Health Network (UHN), Toronto, Ontario, Canada.ORCID 0000-0001-6032-0266
Melba Sheila D'SouzaSchool of Nursing, Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada.ORCID 0000-0002-3156-0663
Florriann FehrSchool of Nursing, Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada.ORCID 0000-0003-0715-9623
Jasmine C MahDepartment of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.ORCID 0000-0003-4391-4286
Sarah Anne FraserInterdisciplinary School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.ORCID 0000-0003-4291-6298
Alison L ChasteenDepartment of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.ORCID 0000-0002-4720-5586
Melissa K AndrewDivision of Geriatric Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.ORCID 0000-0001-7514-8972
Shoshana GreenDepartment of Psychology & Health Studies, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.ORCID 0000-0002-3968-6754
Sepideh MansourigovariDepartment of Computer Science, Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada.ORCID 0009-0000-1562-5490
Raymond J SpiteriDepartment of Computer Science, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.ORCID 0000-0002-3513-6237

Funding

Canada Research Chairs ProgramCanadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration in Aging
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND

objectivesWhen the 2024 U.S. Presidential election was announced, Joe Biden and Donald Trump were two of the oldest candidates in election history. This circumstance created sentiments of ageist political discourse and arguments for presidential age limits. Despite clear ageist discourse during the U.S. election, there is a notable lack of research examining this issue. This study used posts from X (formerly Twitter) to understand ageism on social media during the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election, particularly focusing on the campaign period when the race was between Biden and Trump. RESEARCH DESIGN AND

methodsPosts were collected from X during the American presidential election campaign from February 11-25, 2024. After filtering out non-English, incomplete, and unrelated posts, 1,254 relevant posts were coded line-by-line and then thematically analyzed. Rigor was established by using multiple strategies ranging from a strong audit trail to using interrater reliability during thematic analysis.

resultsFour main themes were identified: (1) old age as an inherent weakness: "they're both too old," (2) dementia-related stigma, (3) dehumanization of older adults: "ancient fossils are running for office," and (4) fear of perceived incompetence. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: Our study's findings shed light on how ageist discourse on social media threatens the credibility of older political leaders by shifting the focus from policies to stereotypical age-based attacks. Further research is needed to examine the impact of ageist discourse on electoral campaigns.

Indexed as

AgeismAgingPoliticsSocial MediaAgedHumansUnited Statesageismdementiaelectionpoliticsstigma

Identifiers

PMID40714805
PMCPMC12476580

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.