No, you aren’t reading a satirical article from The Onion. A study of online comments actually suggests that Donald Trump supporters are the least grammatically inclined.
The study was conducted by proofreading app Grammarly, and was intended to be a “lighthearted look at how well the 2016 presidential candidates’ supporters write when they’re debating online.” Their methodology was fairly simple. They went to each candidate’s Facebook page, took comments that were at least 15 words in length, and then randomly selected 180 of those comments for analysis. They quantified it all in terms of mistakes per 100 words, as well as unique words per 1000 words. The former indicates an overall grasp of the mechanics of English, while the latter serves as a test of vocabulary sophistication.
Take a look at the results for yourself:
Trump supporters fared the worst, while fans of Lincoln Chafee (we know you’re out there, don’t be shy) have cause to rejoice; they scored the highest, followed by Jim Webb supporters in close second. Bernie Sanders fanatics should also take pride in their grammar skills. The Vermont senator’s fanbase ranked third on Grammarly’s list. Hillary Clinton fans followed in fourth, virtually tying with Carly Fiorina supporters.
It’s all downhill from there for the Republicans, but the numbers take a steep dive when it comes to Trump. Maybe grammar is for losers, who knows?
Here’s how Democratic supporters did against Republican ones:
The results may look pretty dire for Republican candidates, but it’s worth noting the data set contained an over-sample of GOP contenders. Anyone who has been paying attention this election season has probably noticed the sheer enormity of the Republican field, while the Democrats have presented a comparatively modest number of candidates.
Still, the results for Trump fans are pretty telling (and hilarious). But hey, supporting a guy like Trump is a pretty clear sign that you just don’t care about anything anymore. Why would you waste your time with something like spelling and grammar?
Featured image by Gage Skidmore/Flickr with modifications from the author, available under a Creative Commons Attribution.
