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Title: An Analysis of Temporal Trends in Anti-Asian Hate and Counter-Hate on Twitter During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Recent studies have documented increases in anti-Asian hate throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet relatively little is known about how anti-Asian content on social media, as well as positive messages to combat the hate, have varied over time. In this study, we investigated temporal changes in the frequency of anti-Asian and counter-hate messages on Twitter during the first 16 months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using the Twitter Data Collection Application Programming Interface, we queried all tweets from January 30, 2020 to April 30, 2021 that contained specific anti-Asian (e.g., #chinavirus, #kungflu) and counter-hate (e.g., #hateisavirus) keywords. From this initial data set, we extracted a random subset of 1,000 Twitter users who had used one or more anti-Asian or counter-hate keywords. For each of these users, we calculated the total number of anti-Asian and counter-hate keywords posted each month. Latent growth curve analysis revealed that the frequency of anti-Asian keywords fluctuated over time in a curvilinear pattern, increasing steadily in the early months and then decreasing in the later months of our data collection. In contrast, the frequency of counter-hate keywords remained low for several months and then increased in a linear manner. Significant between-user variability in both anti-Asian and counter-hate content was observed, highlighting individual differences in the generation of hate and counter-hate messages within our sample. Together, these findings begin to shed light on longitudinal patterns of hate and counter-hate on social media during the COVID-19 pandemic.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
2227488
PAR ID:
10474544
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ; ;
Publisher / Repository:
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking
Volume:
26
Issue:
7
ISSN:
2152-2715
Page Range / eLocation ID:
535 to 545
Subject(s) / Keyword(s):
Twitter quantitative research COVID-19 anti-Asian counter-hate latent growth curve modeling
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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