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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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    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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