Abstract
BackgroundWith increasing numbers of patients with COVID-19 globally, China and the World Health Organization have been blamed by some for the spread of this disease. Consequently, instances of racism and hateful acts have been reported around the world. When US President Donald Trump used the term “Chinese Virus,” this issue gained momentum, and ethnic Asians are now being targeted. The online situation looks similar, with increases in hateful comments and posts.ObjectiveThe aim of this paper is to analyze the increasing instances of cyber racism during the COVID-19 pandemic, by assessing emotions and sentiments associated with tweets on Twitter.MethodsIn total, 16,000 tweets from April 11-16, 2020, were analyzed to determine their associated sentiments and emotions. Statistical analysis was carried out using R. Twitter API and the sentimentr package were used to collect tweets and then evaluate their sentiments, respectively. This research analyzed the emotions and sentiments associated with terms like “Chinese Virus,” “Wuhan Virus,” and “Chinese Corona Virus.”ResultsThe results suggest that the majority of the analyzed tweets were of negative sentiment and carried emotions of fear, sadness, anger, and disgust. There was a high usage of slurs and profane words. In addition, terms like “China Lied People Died,” “Wuhan Health Organization,” “Kung Flu,” “China Must Pay,” and “CCP is Terrorist” were frequently used in these tweets.ConclusionsThis study provides insight into the rise in cyber racism seen on Twitter. Based on the findings, it can be concluded that a substantial number of users are tweeting with mostly negative sentiments toward ethnic Asians, China, and the World Health Organization.
Highlights
Since their inception, social media networks have served as platforms where people worldwide can express their views and opinions
This study provides insight into the rise in cyber racism seen on Twitter
The collected tweets were analyzed using the sentimentr package in R, and the scoring was done on the basis of positive and negative sentiments
Summary
Social media networks have served as platforms where people worldwide can express their views and opinions. Brown [3] has concluded that the internet has often been a place where racism is disseminated in various ways, including through certain websites. These websites used offensive stereotypes to establish white supremacy over the ethnic peoples of Africa. In 2011, Clark et al [4] analyzed weblogs using modified consensual qualitative research to study different types of racial microaggression targeted at Native Americans. There have been sufficient studies that have verified the presence of racial aggression and hatred toward different races, ethnicities, and religions on the internet. Instances of racism and hateful acts have been reported around the world. The online situation looks similar, with increases in hateful comments and posts
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