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From Hashtag to Hate Crime: Twitter and Anti-Minority Sentiment

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  • Müller, Karsten
  • Schwarz, Carlo

Abstract

We study whether social media can amplify anti-minority sentiments with a focus on Donald Trump's political rise. Using an instrumental variable strategy based on Twitter's early adopters at the South by Southwest festival in 2007, we find that higher Twitter use in a county is associated with a sizeable increase in anti-Muslim hate crimes after the 2016 presidential primaries. Trump's tweets about Muslims predict increases in xenophobic tweets by his followers, cable news mentions of Muslims, and hate crimes on the following days. These results suggest that social media content can affect real-life outcomes.

Suggested Citation

  • Müller, Karsten & Schwarz, Carlo, 2022. "From Hashtag to Hate Crime: Twitter and Anti-Minority Sentiment," CEPR Discussion Papers 17647, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:17647
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    Cited by:

    1. Jiménez Durán, Rafael & Muller, Karsten & Schwarz, Carlo, 2024. "The Effect of Content Moderation on Online and Offline Hate: Evidence from Germany’s NetzDG," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 701, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    2. Ruben Enikolopov & Maria Petrova & Gianluca Russo & David Yanagizawa-Drott, 2024. "Socializing Alone: How Online Homophily Has Underminded Social Cohesion in the US," CESifo Working Paper Series 11375, CESifo.
    3. Guy Aridor & Rafael Jiménez-Durán & Ro'ee Levy & Lena Song, 2024. "The Economics of Social Media," CESifo Working Paper Series 10934, CESifo.
    4. Carlos Arcila Calderón & Patricia Sánchez Holgado & Jesús Gómez & Marcos Barbosa & Haodong Qi & Alberto Matilla & Pilar Amado & Alejandro Guzmán & Daniel López-Matías & Tomás Fernández-Villazala, 2024. "From online hate speech to offline hate crime: the role of inflammatory language in forecasting violence against migrant and LGBT communities," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-14, December.
    5. Müller, Karsten & Pan, Yuanyuan & Schwarz, Carlo, 2023. "Social Media and Stock Market Participation," CEPR Discussion Papers 18445, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    6. Gisli Gylfason, 2023. "From Tweets to the Streets: Twitter and Extremist Protests in the United States," PSE Working Papers halshs-04188189, HAL.
    7. Millimet, Daniel L., 2024. "(Don't) Walk This Way: The Econometrics of Crosswalks," IZA Discussion Papers 17154, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Tähtinen, Tuuli, 2024. "When Facebook Is the Internet: The Role of Social Media in Ethnic Conflict," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    9. Maaß, Sabrina & Wortelker, Jil & Rott, Armin, 2024. "Evaluating the regulation of social media: An empirical study of the German NetzDG and Facebook," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(5).
    10. Boken, Johannes & Draca, Mirko & Mastrorocco, Nicola & Ornaghi, Arianna, 2023. "The Returns to Viral Media: The Case of US Campaign Contributions," CEPR Discussion Papers 18337, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    11. Sardoschau, Sulin & Casanueva, Annalí, 2024. "Public Signal and Private Action: Right-wing Protest and Hate Crimes against Refugees," VfS Annual Conference 2024 (Berlin): Upcoming Labor Market Challenges 302408, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Social media; Trump; Hate crime;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L82 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Entertainment; Media

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