Types of Racism and Twitter Users’ Responses Amid the COVID-19 Outbreak: Content Analysis
BackgroundWhen the first COVID-19 cases were noticed in China, many racist comments against Chinese individuals spread. As there is a huge need to better comprehend why all of these targeted comments and opinions developed specifically at the start of the outbreak, we sought...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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JMIR Publications
2022-05-01
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| Series: | JMIR Formative Research |
| Online Access: | https://formative.jmir.org/2022/5/e29183 |
| _version_ | 1797735063570350080 |
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| author | Amanda Lloret-Pineda Yuelu He Josep Maria Haro Paula Cristóbal-Narváez |
| author_facet | Amanda Lloret-Pineda Yuelu He Josep Maria Haro Paula Cristóbal-Narváez |
| author_sort | Amanda Lloret-Pineda |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
BackgroundWhen the first COVID-19 cases were noticed in China, many racist comments against Chinese individuals spread. As there is a huge need to better comprehend why all of these targeted comments and opinions developed specifically at the start of the outbreak, we sought to carefully examine racism and advocacy efforts on Twitter in the first quarter of 2020 (January 15 to March 3, 2020).
ObjectiveThe first research question aimed to understand the main type of racism displayed on Twitter during the first quarter of 2020. The second research question focused on evaluating Twitter users’ positive and negative responses regarding racism toward Chinese individuals.
MethodsContent analysis of tweets was utilized to address the two research questions. Using the NCapture browser link and NVivo software, tweets in English and Spanish were pulled from the Twitter data stream from January 15 to March 3, 2020. A total of 19,150 tweets were captured using the advanced Twitter search engine with the keywords and hashtags #nosoyunvirus, #imNotAVirus, #ChineseDon’tComeToJapan, #racism, “No soy un virus,” and “Racismo Coronavirus.” After cleaning the data, a total of 402 tweets were codified and analyzed.
ResultsThe data confirmed clear sentiments of racism against Chinese individuals during the first quarter of 2020. The tweets displayed individual, cultural, and institutional racism. Individual racism was the most commonly reported form of racism, specifically displaying physical and verbal aggression. As a form of resistance, Twitter users created spaces for advocacy and activism. The hashtag “I am not a virus” helped to break stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination on Twitter.
ConclusionsAdvocacy efforts were enormous both inside and outside the Chinese community; an allyship sentiment was fostered by some white users, and an identification with the oppression experienced by the Chinese population was expressed in the Black and Muslim worldwide communities. Activism through social media manifested through art, food sharing, and community support. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T12:53:39Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-89909167e2ca4ebb947203a661289654 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2561-326X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T12:53:39Z |
| publishDate | 2022-05-01 |
| publisher | JMIR Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | JMIR Formative Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-89909167e2ca4ebb947203a6612896542023-08-28T21:48:19ZengJMIR PublicationsJMIR Formative Research2561-326X2022-05-0165e2918310.2196/29183Types of Racism and Twitter Users’ Responses Amid the COVID-19 Outbreak: Content AnalysisAmanda Lloret-Pinedahttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-3079-8557Yuelu Hehttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-4942-8230Josep Maria Harohttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-3984-277XPaula Cristóbal-Narváezhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-8184-6347 BackgroundWhen the first COVID-19 cases were noticed in China, many racist comments against Chinese individuals spread. As there is a huge need to better comprehend why all of these targeted comments and opinions developed specifically at the start of the outbreak, we sought to carefully examine racism and advocacy efforts on Twitter in the first quarter of 2020 (January 15 to March 3, 2020). ObjectiveThe first research question aimed to understand the main type of racism displayed on Twitter during the first quarter of 2020. The second research question focused on evaluating Twitter users’ positive and negative responses regarding racism toward Chinese individuals. MethodsContent analysis of tweets was utilized to address the two research questions. Using the NCapture browser link and NVivo software, tweets in English and Spanish were pulled from the Twitter data stream from January 15 to March 3, 2020. A total of 19,150 tweets were captured using the advanced Twitter search engine with the keywords and hashtags #nosoyunvirus, #imNotAVirus, #ChineseDon’tComeToJapan, #racism, “No soy un virus,” and “Racismo Coronavirus.” After cleaning the data, a total of 402 tweets were codified and analyzed. ResultsThe data confirmed clear sentiments of racism against Chinese individuals during the first quarter of 2020. The tweets displayed individual, cultural, and institutional racism. Individual racism was the most commonly reported form of racism, specifically displaying physical and verbal aggression. As a form of resistance, Twitter users created spaces for advocacy and activism. The hashtag “I am not a virus” helped to break stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination on Twitter. ConclusionsAdvocacy efforts were enormous both inside and outside the Chinese community; an allyship sentiment was fostered by some white users, and an identification with the oppression experienced by the Chinese population was expressed in the Black and Muslim worldwide communities. Activism through social media manifested through art, food sharing, and community support.https://formative.jmir.org/2022/5/e29183 |
| spellingShingle | Amanda Lloret-Pineda Yuelu He Josep Maria Haro Paula Cristóbal-Narváez Types of Racism and Twitter Users’ Responses Amid the COVID-19 Outbreak: Content Analysis JMIR Formative Research |
| title | Types of Racism and Twitter Users’ Responses Amid the COVID-19 Outbreak: Content Analysis |
| title_full | Types of Racism and Twitter Users’ Responses Amid the COVID-19 Outbreak: Content Analysis |
| title_fullStr | Types of Racism and Twitter Users’ Responses Amid the COVID-19 Outbreak: Content Analysis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Types of Racism and Twitter Users’ Responses Amid the COVID-19 Outbreak: Content Analysis |
| title_short | Types of Racism and Twitter Users’ Responses Amid the COVID-19 Outbreak: Content Analysis |
| title_sort | types of racism and twitter users responses amid the covid 19 outbreak content analysis |
| url | https://formative.jmir.org/2022/5/e29183 |
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