Whether a topic is seen in a moral or moral-emotional light can have significant political implications: e.g., group-thinking, (affective) polarization, and intergroup hostility.

To study the diffusion of moral and moral-emotional appeals, we use fine-grained social media data (Twitter) over four years in Germany (2017–2021) Our findings indicate that politicians do not follow the public. On the contrary, politicians set the tone of public debate.