IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/juecon/v141y2024ics0094119023000839.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Spatial and historical drivers of fake news diffusion: Evidence from anti-Muslim discrimination in India

Author

Listed:
  • Abraham, Samira S.
  • Lanzara, Gianandrea
  • Lazzaroni, Sara
  • Masella, Paolo
  • Squicciarini, Mara P.

Abstract

What drives the propagation of discriminatory fake news? To answer this question, this paper focuses on India at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic: on March 30, a Muslim convention (the Tablighi Jamaat) in New Delhi became publicly recognized as a COVID hotspot. Using Twitter data, we build a comprehensive novel dataset of georeferenced tweets to identify anti-Muslim fake news. First, we document that fake news about Muslims intentionally spreading the virus spiked after March 30. Then, we investigate the geographical and historical determinants of the spread of fake news in a difference-in-difference setting. We find that the diffusion of anti-Muslim false stories was more pronounced (i) in districts closer to New Delhi, suggesting that fake news spread spatially; and (ii) in districts exposed to historical attacks by Muslim groups, suggesting that the propensity to disseminate fake news has deep-rooted historical origins.

Suggested Citation

  • Abraham, Samira S. & Lanzara, Gianandrea & Lazzaroni, Sara & Masella, Paolo & Squicciarini, Mara P., 2024. "Spatial and historical drivers of fake news diffusion: Evidence from anti-Muslim discrimination in India," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:juecon:v:141:y:2024:i:c:s0094119023000839
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jue.2023.103613
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0094119023000839
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jue.2023.103613?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jha, Saumitra, 2013. "Trade, Institutions, and Ethnic Tolerance: Evidence from South Asia," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 107(4), pages 806-832, November.
    2. Stefano Della Vigna & Ruben Enikolopov & Vera Mironova & Maria Petrova & Ekaterina Zhuravskaya, 2014. "Cross-Border Media and Nationalism: Evidence from Serbian Radio in Croatia," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 6(3), pages 103-132, July.
    3. Yannis M. Ioannides & Henry G. Overman & Esteban Rossi-Hansberg & Kurt Schmidheiny, 2008. "The effect of information and communication technologies on urban structure [‘Trade and circuses: Explaining urban giants’]," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 23(54), pages 202-242.
    4. Michael Bailey & Rachel Cao & Theresa Kuchler & Johannes Stroebel & Arlene Wong, 2018. "Social Connectedness: Measurement, Determinants, and Effects," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 32(3), pages 259-280, Summer.
    5. Adam B. Jaffe & Manuel Trajtenberg & Rebecca Henderson, 1993. "Geographic Localization of Knowledge Spillovers as Evidenced by Patent Citations," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 108(3), pages 577-598.
    6. Bailey, Michael & Farrell, Patrick & Kuchler, Theresa & Stroebel, Johannes, 2020. "Social connectedness in urban areas," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    7. Anirban Mitra & Debraj Ray, 2014. "Implications of an Economic Theory of Conflict: Hindu-Muslim Violence in India," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 122(4), pages 719-765.
    8. Mark Dincecco & James Fenske & Anil Menon & Shivaji Mukherjee, 2022. "Pre-Colonial Warfare and Long-Run Development in India," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 132(643), pages 981-1010.
    9. Figueiredo, Octávio & Guimarães, Paulo & Woodward, Douglas, 2015. "Industry localization, distance decay, and knowledge spillovers: Following the patent paper trail," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 21-31.
    10. Büchel, Konstantin & Ehrlich, Maximilian v., 2020. "Cities and the structure of social interactions: Evidence from mobile phone data," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    11. Maja Adena & Ruben Enikolopov & Maria Petrova & Veronica Santarosa & Ekaterina Zhuravskaya, 2015. "Radio and the Rise of The Nazis in Prewar Germany," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 130(4), pages 1885-1939.
    12. Stelios Michalopoulos & Elias Papaioannou, 2018. "Spatial Patterns of Development: A Meso Approach," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 10(1), pages 383-410, August.
    13. Doerr, Sebastian & Gissler, Stefan & Peydró, José-Luis & Voth, Hans-Joachim, 2022. "Financial crises and political radicalization: How failing banks paved Hitler’s path to power," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 77(6), pages 3339-3372.
    14. Chaudhary, Latika & Rubin, Jared & Iyer, Sriya & Shrivastava, Anand, 2020. "Culture and colonial legacy: Evidence from public goods games," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 173(C), pages 107-129.
    15. Peter Thompson & Melanie Fox-Kean, 2005. "Patent Citations and the Geography of Knowledge Spillovers: A Reassessment: Reply," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 95(1), pages 465-466, March.
    16. Peter Thompson & Melanie Fox-Kean, 2005. "Patent Citations and the Geography of Knowledge Spillovers: A Reassessment," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 95(1), pages 450-460, March.
    17. Robert Warren Anderson & Noel D. Johnson & Mark Koyama, 2017. "Jewish Persecutions and Weather Shocks: 1100–1800," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 127(602), pages 924-958, June.
    18. Lu, Runjing & Sheng, Sophie Yanying, 2022. "How racial animus forms and spreads: Evidence from the coronavirus pandemic," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 200(C), pages 82-98.
    19. Nico Voigtländer & Hans-Joachim Voth, 2012. "Persecution Perpetuated: The Medieval Origins of Anti-Semitic Violence in Nazi Germany," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 127(3), pages 1339-1392.
    20. Remi Jedwab & Noel D. Johnson & Mark Koyama, 2019. "Negative shocks and mass persecutions: evidence from the Black Death," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 24(4), pages 345-395, December.
    21. Gaspar, Jess & Glaeser, Edward L., 1998. "Information Technology and the Future of Cities," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(1), pages 136-156, January.
    22. Ekaterina Zhuravskaya & Maria Petrova & Ruben Enikolopov, 2020. "Political Effects of the Internet and Social Media," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 12(1), pages 415-438, August.
    23. Dmitriev, Mikhail & Comin, Diego & Rossi-Hansberg, Esteban, 2012. "The Spatial Diffusion of Technology," CEPR Discussion Papers 9208, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    24. Lakshmi Iyer, 2010. "Direct versus Indirect Colonial Rule in India: Long-Term Consequences," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 92(4), pages 693-713, November.
    25. Fenske, James & Kala, Namrata & Wei, Jinlin, 2023. "Railways and cities in India," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    26. Conley, T. G., 1999. "GMM estimation with cross sectional dependence," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 92(1), pages 1-45, September.
    27. repec:hal:pseose:halshs-01053370 is not listed on IDEAS
    28. Dipoppa Dipoppa & Guy Grossman & Stephanie Zonszein, 2021. "Locked Down, Lashing Out: Situational Triggers and Hateful Behavior Towards Minority Ethnic Immigrants," Empirical Studies of Conflict Project (ESOC) Working Papers 23, Empirical Studies of Conflict Project.
    29. Anderson, D. Mark & Crost, Benjamin & Rees, Daniel I., 2020. "Do economic downturns fuel racial animus?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 175(C), pages 9-18.
    30. Jeanet Sinding Bentzen & Nicolai Kaarsen & Asger Moll Wingender, 2017. "Irrigation and Autocracy," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 15(1), pages 1-53.
    31. Bartoš, Vojtěch & Bauer, Michal & Cahlíková, Jana & Chytilová, Julie, 2021. "Covid-19 crisis and hostility against foreigners," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    32. Rebecca Henderson & Adam Jaffe & Manuel Trajtenberg, 2005. "Patent Citations and the Geography of Knowledge Spillovers: A Reassessment: Comment," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 95(1), pages 461-464, March.
    33. Karsten Müller & Carlo Schwarz, 2021. "Fanning the Flames of Hate: Social Media and Hate Crime [Radio and the Rise of The Nazis in Prewar Germany]," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 19(4), pages 2131-2167.
    34. Abhijit Banerjee & Lakshmi Iyer, 2005. "History, Institutions, and Economic Performance: The Legacy of Colonial Land Tenure Systems in India," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 95(4), pages 1190-1213, September.
    35. Levy, Moshe & Goldenberg, Jacob, 2014. "The gravitational law of social interaction," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 393(C), pages 418-426.
    36. Emmanouil Tranos & Peter Nijkamp, 2013. "The Death Of Distance Revisited: Cyber-Place, Physical And Relational Proximities," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(5), pages 855-873, December.
    37. David Yanagizawa-Drott, 2014. "Propaganda and Conflict: Evidence from the Rwandan Genocide," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 129(4), pages 1947-1994.
    38. Diana Mok & Barry Wellman & Juan Carrasco, 2010. "Does Distance Matter in the Age of the Internet?," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 47(13), pages 2747-2783, November.
    39. Amparo Castelló‐Climent & Latika Chaudhary & Abhiroop Mukhopadhyay, 2018. "Higher Education and Prosperity: From Catholic Missionaries to Luminosity in India," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 128(616), pages 3039-3075, December.
    40. Bharadwaj, Prashant & Ali Mirza, Rinchan, 2019. "Displacement and development: Long term impacts of population transfer in India," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 1-1.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Mara P. Squicciarini & Gianandrea Lanzara & Sara Lazzaroni & Paolo Masella, 2024. "Economic Shocks and Assimilation Policies: Phylloxera and Educational Expansion in French Algeria," BAFFI CAREFIN Working Papers 24221, BAFFI CAREFIN, Centre for Applied Research on International Markets Banking Finance and Regulation, Universita' Bocconi, Milano, Italy.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Samira S. Abraham & Gianandrea Lanzara & Sara Lazzaroni & Paolo Masella & Mara P. Squicciarini, 2023. "The Spatial Drivers of Discrimination: Evidence From Anti-Muslim Fake News in India," Working Papers wp1180, Dipartimento Scienze Economiche, Universita' di Bologna.
    2. Alex Armand & Paul Atwell & Joseph F. Gomes & Yannik Schenk, 2023. "It’s a Bird, it’s a Plane, it’s Superman! Using Mass Media to fight Intolerance," LIDAM Discussion Papers IRES 2023012, Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES).
    3. Keith Head & Yao Amber Li & Asier Minondo, 2019. "Geography, Ties, and Knowledge Flows: Evidence from Citations in Mathematics," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 101(4), pages 713-727, October.
    4. Diemer, Andreas & Regan, Tanner, 2022. "No inventor is an island: Social connectedness and the geography of knowledge flows in the US," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(2).
    5. Becker, Sascha O. & Mukand, Sharun & Yotzov, Ivan, 2022. "Persecution, pogroms and genocide: A conceptual framework and new evidence," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    6. Long, Cheryl Xiaoning & Yi, Wei, 2024. "Information effects of high-speed rail: Evidence from patent citations in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    7. Tähtinen, Tuuli, 2024. "When Facebook Is the Internet: The Role of Social Media in Ethnic Conflict," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    8. Karsten Müller & Carlo Schwarz, 2021. "Fanning the Flames of Hate: Social Media and Hate Crime [Radio and the Rise of The Nazis in Prewar Germany]," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 19(4), pages 2131-2167.
    9. Büchel, Konstantin & Ehrlich, Maximilian v., 2020. "Cities and the structure of social interactions: Evidence from mobile phone data," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    10. Mark Dincecco & James Fenske & Anil Menon & Shivaji Mukherjee, 2022. "Pre-Colonial Warfare and Long-Run Development in India," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 132(643), pages 981-1010.
    11. Carr, Joel & James, Jonathan & Clifton-Sprigg, Joanna & Vujic, Suncica, 2022. "Hate in the Time of COVID-19: Racial Crimes against East Asians," IZA Discussion Papers 15718, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    12. Bonnier, Evelina & Poulsen, Jonas & Rogall, Thorsten & Stryjan, Miri, 2020. "Preparing for genocide: Quasi-experimental evidence from Rwanda," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    13. Georg von Graevenitz & Stuart J. H. Graham & Amanda F. Myers, 2022. "Distance (still) hampers diffusion of innovations," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(2), pages 227-241, February.
    14. Georg von Graevenitz & Stuart J. H. Graham & Amanda Myers, 2019. "Distance (Still) Hampers Diffusion of Innovations," Working Paper series, University of East Anglia, Centre for Competition Policy (CCP) 2019-05, Centre for Competition Policy, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK..
    15. Moritz Goldbeck, 2022. "Bit by Bit - Colocation and the Death of Distance in Software Developer Networks," ifo Working Paper Series 386, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich.
    16. Johannes Buggle & Thierry Mayer & Seyhun Orcan Sakalli & Mathias Thoenig, 2023. "The Refugee’s Dilemma: Evidence from Jewish Migration out of Nazi Germany," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 138(2), pages 1273-1345.
    17. Stefano Gagliarducci & Massimiliano Gaetano Onorato & Francesco Sobbrio & Guido Tabellini, 2020. "War of the Waves: Radio and Resistance during World War II," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 12(4), pages 1-38, October.
    18. Hyuk-Soo Kwon & Jihong Lee & Sokbae Lee & Ryungha Oh, 2022. "Knowledge spillovers and patent citations: trends in geographic localization, 1976–2015," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(3), pages 123-147, April.
    19. Emanuele Bacchiocchi & Fabio Montobbio, 2010. "International Knowledge Diffusion and Home‐bias Effect: Do USPTO and EPO Patent Citations Tell the Same Story?," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 112(3), pages 441-470, September.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Discrimination; Fake news; Religion; Covid; India;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • Z12 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Religion

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:juecon:v:141:y:2024:i:c:s0094119023000839. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/622905 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.