Communists, Double Agents, Bats, ​and Other Inanities of Allusive Racism: ​ Anti-Asian Mis/disinformation on Social Media ​During the COVID-19 Pandemic ​

Anti-Asian COVID-19 mis/disinformation on social media platforms is fostering to new forms of racist and xenophobic speech and action both online and offline (e.g. Sinophobic posts targeting Chinese communities and peoples of Chinese descent in North America, verbal and physical violence aimed at Asian-Canadians and Asian-Americans, etc.). Based on computational methods (topic modeling, semantic network analysis, and sentiment analysis) and qualitative analysis of content on three social media platforms (Twitter, Reddit, and YouTube) and relevant websites, we will present our findings regarding the forms of COVID-19-related racist and xenophobic misinformation and disinformation, the forms of anti-misinformation and -disinformation campaigns that North American-based Asian community organizations and activists are developing, and the implications that these findings have for public health and political responses.