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Vindication, virtue, and vitriol

Author

Listed:
  • Tracie Farrell

    (University of Sheffield)

  • Genevieve Gorrell

    (University of Sheffield)

  • Kalina Bontcheva

    (University of Sheffield)

Abstract

COVID-19 has given rise to a lot of malicious content online, including hate speech, online abuse, and misinformation. British MPs have also received abuse and hate on social media during this time. To understand and contextualise the level of abuse MPs receive, we consider how ministers use social media to communicate about the pandemic, and the citizen engagement that this generates. The focus of the paper is on a large-scale, mixed-methods study of abusive and antagonistic responses to UK politicians on Twitter, during the pandemic from early February to late May 2020. We find that pressing subjects such as financial concerns attract high levels of engagement, but not necessarily abusive dialogue. Rather, criticising authorities appears to attract higher levels of abuse during this period of the pandemic. In addition, communicating about subjects like racism and inequality may result in accusations of virtue signalling or pandering by some users. This work contributes to the wider understanding of abusive language online, in particular that which is directed at public officials.

Suggested Citation

  • Tracie Farrell & Genevieve Gorrell & Kalina Bontcheva, 2020. "Vindication, virtue, and vitriol," Journal of Computational Social Science, Springer, vol. 3(2), pages 401-443, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jcsosc:v:3:y:2020:i:2:d:10.1007_s42001-020-00090-9
    DOI: 10.1007/s42001-020-00090-9
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Jennifer Golbeck & Justin M. Grimes & Anthony Rogers, 2010. "Twitter use by the U.S. Congress," Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 61(8), pages 1612-1621, August.
    2. James Ming Chen, 2017. "Risk and Uncertainty," Quantitative Perspectives on Behavioral Economics and Finance, in: Econophysics and Capital Asset Pricing, chapter 0, pages 189-211, Palgrave Macmillan.
    3. Adam Brzezinski & Valentin Kecht & David Van Dijcke & Austin L. Wright, 2020. "Belief in Science Influences Physical Distancing in Response to COVID-19 Lockdown Policies," Working Papers 2020-56, Becker Friedman Institute for Research In Economics.
    4. Elaine Wallace & Isabel Buil & Leslie Chernatony, 2020. "‘Consuming Good’ on Social Media: What Can Conspicuous Virtue Signalling on Facebook Tell Us About Prosocial and Unethical Intentions?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 162(3), pages 577-592, March.
    5. Jennifer Golbeck & Justin M. Grimes & Anthony Rogers, 2010. "Twitter use by the U.S. Congress," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 61(8), pages 1612-1621, August.
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    Cited by:

    1. Emilio Ferrara & Stefano Cresci & Luca Luceri, 2020. "Misinformation, manipulation, and abuse on social media in the era of COVID-19," Journal of Computational Social Science, Springer, vol. 3(2), pages 271-277, November.

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