In the crowded world of online news, editors like myself are always looking for a way to make a story stand out. That’s why, like so many others, we often use popular hashtags – such as #MeToo or #BlackLivesMatter – in our social media posts.

Imagine my surprise when Eugenia Ha Rim Rho, a University of California, Irvine graduate student, told me that hashtags often have the opposite effect. In fact, they actually make people trust the surrounding information less.

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News outlets sometimes use hashtags to promote their stories. 13_Phunkod/Shutterstock.com

Political hashtags like #MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter make people less likely to believe the news

Eugenia Ha Rim Rho, University of California, Irvine

When news stories include a catchy hashtag, readers perceived the news topic to be less socially important and more partisan.

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