tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1166669645725536266.post2909345834001717899..comments2023-07-07T06:52:33.856-04:00Comments on floatingsheep: Mapping Racist Tweets in Response to President Obama's Re-electionMark Grahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00659652124105331552noreply@blogger.comBlogger145125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1166669645725536266.post-46439977143826455462012-11-10T10:57:03.413-05:002012-11-10T10:57:03.413-05:00Hi All,
Thanks for all the comments and critiques....Hi All,<br />Thanks for all the comments and critiques. They have been much appreciated and have helped push our thinking on this post and future projects. At this point we're seeing more repetition on the same themes and because we've prepared the FAQ that answers these points we're going to turn off commenting. http://www.floatingsheep.org/2012/11/faq-mapping-racist-tweets-in-response.html<br /><br />Besides it is the weekend and absolutely gorgeous outside so we're unplugging.<br /><br />Matthew Zookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08480544925277453768noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1166669645725536266.post-29019722084232636552012-11-10T10:43:22.283-05:002012-11-10T10:43:22.283-05:00I read your FAQ and your attitude indicated in &qu...I read your FAQ and your attitude indicated in "we focus on racist language directed at President Obama because racism directed at black Americans is not only historically more significant, but because it also highlights the persistence of explicitly racist attitudes in what some have (fallaciously) termed ‘post-racial America’" is that racism is caused by whites. It is not historically more significant. That's a cop-out, spin statement. I could believe that a black person could harbor some ill will just because of past practices alone, not to mention any negative lifetime experiences. I had a little more respect for your article before reading the FAQ. Now you've dis-repected me as a white person. You need to get out of YOUR bubble and improve your perspective. BTW, I campaigned and voted for Obama in this Republican state.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1166669645725536266.post-5036617540454840622012-11-10T10:43:15.550-05:002012-11-10T10:43:15.550-05:00The authors found 395 racist geocoded tweets about...The authors found 395 racist geocoded tweets about Obama found from November 1-6. By racist, the authors mean white on black racism, as they followed the tweets’ content. (Obama is biracial, of course, but that seems not to matter to those posting on Twitter.)<br /><br />400 million tweets per day is the 2012 tweet average; making total 2.4 billion, which is perhaps an understatement, but it’s close enough. <br /><br />The authors estimate that geocoded tweets are 1% to 5% of total tweets.<br /><br />That makes the pool anywhere from 24 million geocoded tweets to 120 million geocoded tweets.<br /><br />They sampled 0.05%, so that’s a range of 12,000 to 60,000 tweets.<br /><br />That makes the percentage of tech-literate racist tweets on election night 3.3% (roughly 1 racist geocoded tweet in 30 geocoded tweets) to 0.66% (or 1 racist geocoded tweet in 151.9 geocoded tweets).<br /><br />The national average could be 36,000 tweets, 1 racist geocoded tweet per 91.13 geocoded tweets or 1.09%.<br /><br />However the number of individuals involved must be slightly smaller than that range, because they’re counting tweets, not individuals, so as they state, 395 tweets come from 349 twitter accounts. <br /><br />So that would give us anywhere from 2.9% to 0.58% of twitterers are racist; alternatively it ranges from 1 racist per 34.4 twitterers to 1 racist in 171.9 twitterers. The average of that range would be 1 in 103 or so.<br /><br />So, another way of putting this is that maybe 1 in 103 or so tech-literate people are willing to anonymously use hate speech in an uncensored forum. Perhaps the reason this is trending is that people seem to have higher expectations of the tech-literate. <br /><br />Is 1 in 103 hateful posters in an uncensored forum average, above average, or below average? (1 per 34.4? 1 in 171.9?) Do the authors of this study have any sources to help provide context for this? Academic studies on race online? On trolling rate in communities without moderators?David Kociembahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11392285155892307582noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1166669645725536266.post-28527553351521055482012-11-10T10:37:19.152-05:002012-11-10T10:37:19.152-05:00Actually, importantly, the south is not historical...Actually, importantly, the south is not historically Republican. For many years, the South voted solidly democrat. The shift from support for Democrats vs. Republicans happened around civil rights issues in the middle of the 20th century. In other words, the shift from supporting the Democratic party to the Republican party in the south happened around racial issues. I'm a southerner and while I would like to be able to argue that there is not more overt racism between African Americans and Caucasians in the south than in the rest of the country, history suggests otherwise. States which owned slaves tended to support the Democratic party in the years leading up to and following the end of slavery, because the Democratic party supported the continuation of slavery, and continued segregation after the end of slavery. Once party politics began to shift in the middle of the 20th century, and the Democratic party began to more actively support civil rights platforms, southern support for the Democratic party began to weaken, and there was even a split in the party over racial issues. The real completion of the shift towards a Republican south happened during the 60s and 70s at the height of the civil rights movement, and in response to continued battles for integration.<br /><br />In other words, the south is only "historically republican" for about 50 years, and that history is deeply rooted in racism.Meganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04666523455187231886noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1166669645725536266.post-53383427569909844292012-11-10T10:36:38.232-05:002012-11-10T10:36:38.232-05:00I concur..Get a Life...this stuff reminds me of th...I concur..Get a Life...this stuff reminds me of the stuff people with Aspergers Syndrome dwell uponBobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10713899274965688587noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1166669645725536266.post-89046887483278888752012-11-10T10:06:36.295-05:002012-11-10T10:06:36.295-05:00I would like some clarification. Is this map inten...I would like some clarification. Is this map intended to show racism against Obama as a result of his reelection, or racism in general relating to the election?<br /><br />If it's the former, I think you should lead with that point as your argument against including relevant Romney tweets.<br /><br />If it's the latter, then I make the following argument for including the Romney tweets:<br /><br />1) While racism directed towards black is a historically significant trend, racism is racism and the only way to eliminate it is to recognize it directed towards all ethnicities. Similarly racism is not defined derogatory comments originating from the dominant group, but the act of disparaging a person based on their ethnicity. Including racist comments directed towards Romney highlights the continuing issues of racial tensions the same as racist comments towards Obama. Residual anger towards an ethnic for past slights is just as much an indicator of racism.<br /><br />2) The implied weighting of slurs is concerning. Focusing only on slurs and racism tied to historical events implies that less prevalent forms of racism are acceptable. i.e. racism against Blacks and Jews is unacceptable, but it's okay to direct slurs at Gypsies or the Irish because the history isn't as visible.<br /><br />3) It seems disingenuous to dismiss the Romney tweets because their total number is only a fraction of the tweets directed against Obama using the logic from my first point. Especially when the FAQ points out that positive tweets and users sending out multiple tweets with slurs were not eliminated for the sake of neutrality. If the goal is a complete picture of racist responses to the election without bias, shouldn't we include all relevant tweets?<br /><br />Although I have a little concern over the sample size (something completely out of your control due to the necessary criteria), I think this is a great map that shows racism directed against a man by a minority of the opposition. If anything, it shows that racism exists even in areas traditionally considered progressive in American politics, albiet in much smaller quantities than areas traditionally associated with racism.<br /><br />I just think you need to clarify the goal of the map a bit more. I think that will help quiet the rumblings about Romney tweets and the like. It would be interesting to see supplemental maps with Romney+Obama tweets to see how that affects the results and Romney only tweets, if only to see where they originated (I doubt there's enough data to make statistically relevant assertions).<br /><br />Great map, and great work!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14309951431231100013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1166669645725536266.post-11228602189231313192012-11-10T09:30:27.808-05:002012-11-10T09:30:27.808-05:00My reading of your blog post is that you found 395...My reading of your blog post is that you found 395 racist geocoded tweets out of roughly 1-5% of roughly 2.4 billion tweets over 6 days, or 24-120 million geocoded tweets. The 2.4 billion is a guess based on 2012 average of 400 million tweets a day. But I'd like to NOT guess and have a figure for what your sample is, which is not 395.David Kociembahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11392285155892307582noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1166669645725536266.post-16659043407586496732012-11-10T09:30:03.734-05:002012-11-10T09:30:03.734-05:00LMT makes a good point. I understood your survey ...LMT makes a good point. I understood your survey to be anti-white in its perspective. There is another side, so why did you not present it also? I do not consider you any type of "news" organization when you present statistics this way. I have lived and toured in other countries in my life and I now live in Alabama. I have met whites who sound like they will go to their graves believing in segregation. But I have also met blacks who have little or no education, are drug abusers yet expect that society owes them more BECAUSE they are black. How can a reasonable person tolerate either mindset? Both sides have to mature in their way of thinking before racism begins to heal.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1166669645725536266.post-12430948165899689132012-11-10T09:24:16.494-05:002012-11-10T09:24:16.494-05:00The FAQ does not answer my question. It does not p...The FAQ does not answer my question. It does not provide a number for how many tweets were in your national sample.David Kociembahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11392285155892307582noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1166669645725536266.post-17580997161046711302012-11-10T09:21:20.780-05:002012-11-10T09:21:20.780-05:00Great stuff - love the analytical mind behind it r...Great stuff - love the analytical mind behind it regardless of the results...you don't accept data that I've seen that African Americans are over-represented on twitter?<br /><br />Contrary to the OP's assumptions, twitter is accessible to many people via their smartphones/cellphones. In many low-income areas, low-cost providers for cell phone service offer those lower on the socioeconomic ladder access to the internets. Amirah Naimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17933677851636734382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1166669645725536266.post-70485696500515187332012-11-10T09:15:05.952-05:002012-11-10T09:15:05.952-05:00To the previous three comments...please see the FA...To the previous three comments...please see the FAQMatthew Zookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08480544925277453768noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1166669645725536266.post-28900173911177024142012-11-10T08:31:08.242-05:002012-11-10T08:31:08.242-05:00What is the national rate of hate tweet to tweet w...What is the national rate of hate tweet to tweet without these terms? Are you using only to election-flavored tweets or any tweets in that time period? The reason I ask is that there were 32 million tweets on the election on election day, let alone Nov 1-6. And the average seems to be about 400 million tweets per day. So are you taking 0.05% of 2.4 billion tweets (400 million tweets per day) or are you taking 0.05% of 32 million + 5 days worth of election tweets (say 100 million or more, guesstimate).<br /><br />In short, what is the number referenced here: "# of ALL Tweets in USA"? David Kociembahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11392285155892307582noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1166669645725536266.post-33726298498349283602012-11-10T08:19:54.602-05:002012-11-10T08:19:54.602-05:00Quick question: "0.05% sample of all geocoded...Quick question: "0.05% sample of all geocoded tweets in November 2012" equals how many tweets overall in the sample?David Kociembahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11392285155892307582noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1166669645725536266.post-53931738664609549842012-11-10T08:07:03.804-05:002012-11-10T08:07:03.804-05:00Why is it assumed that racism only goes one way? D...Why is it assumed that racism only goes one way? Did you do any type of search with keywords like "white", "Romney", "Mittens", "Willard", "rich", or "lost" - all keywords in talking points used against the Republican candidate? That would be an interesting map, as well.Lynn Maria Thompsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10640610672478369047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1166669645725536266.post-10240697095317919312012-11-10T06:32:42.351-05:002012-11-10T06:32:42.351-05:00See the FAQ for our response to some of these issu...See the FAQ for our response to some of these issues.<br />http://www.floatingsheep.org/2012/11/faq-mapping-racist-tweets-in-response.htmlMatthew Zookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08480544925277453768noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1166669645725536266.post-76137840071116394822012-11-10T06:31:34.524-05:002012-11-10T06:31:34.524-05:00See our response to these issues here...http://www...See our response to these issues here...http://www.floatingsheep.org/2012/11/faq-mapping-racist-tweets-in-response.html<br /><br />Collin- age was not included, no good way data on age demographics of twitter usersMatthew Zookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08480544925277453768noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1166669645725536266.post-16908488754968420642012-11-10T05:30:45.634-05:002012-11-10T05:30:45.634-05:00By all means, feel free to select an actual logica...By all means, feel free to select an actual logical argument that refutes the statistical evidence. "Well, this is what I see on Twitter from my experience" is not an objective argument... it's conjecture.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1166669645725536266.post-79691059613267905132012-11-10T02:56:09.165-05:002012-11-10T02:56:09.165-05:00Not to worry, I understand. I like being Unknown ...Not to worry, I understand. I like being Unknown 9, but that's just Unknown plus the first part of the date. It was a long day, wasn't it? I think the idea and the map are really cool and just FYI, I'm Stana. :D Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16133587051891135651noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1166669645725536266.post-20295482723427621722012-11-10T01:39:34.242-05:002012-11-10T01:39:34.242-05:00This is such BS. Not because White racists use Twi...This is such BS. Not because White racists use Twitter, but because the number of racist Tweets from Obama supporters is not given equal scrutiny. From my experience, the Black racism on Twitter far exceeds the White racism. Racists will be racists, and The Left will be the Left, and engage in pretenses such as this that exhibit no interest in objectivity.reSemblancehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01176365900752996751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1166669645725536266.post-13553269991079864552012-11-09T23:41:06.317-05:002012-11-09T23:41:06.317-05:00Thanks for the clarification. Of course there'...Thanks for the clarification. Of course there's this: "Mapping Racist Tweets in Response to President Obama's Re-election" and this "Map of the Location Quotients for Post Election Racist Tweets" and this "During the day after the 2012 presidential election we took note of a spike in hate speech on Twitter referring to President Obama's re-election" so you can see how I might have been confused. <br /><br />The clarification might kind of put to rest some of my concerns, but it still doesn't explain some of the oddness in your data, such as why you were able to capture about 22 times more tweets per capita in both Nevada and AZ than in Utah, for example. Possibly that's just really the difference in twitter usage between those states, but without some raw data to back it up, it smells fishy. Then too is the sort of quirky characterization of tweets that happened maybe as much as 5 days prior to election day as being "post-election", and as "referring to Obama's re-election". I don't know that a "quirk" like that is completely relevant to your main point, but it might sort of lead one to wonder just how often similar "quirks" might appear in your work.Nedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01137057321307899995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1166669645725536266.post-47185451864049035072012-11-09T22:43:32.893-05:002012-11-09T22:43:32.893-05:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15762645990871117222noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1166669645725536266.post-31391060576420014142012-11-09T21:26:05.888-05:002012-11-09T21:26:05.888-05:00I don't believe that most people that opposed ...I don't believe that most people that opposed Obama are racist. I do, however think that a great many people are prejudiced. Many think because they work with a person of color, treat them equally, that that indicates they have no prejudicial feelings. But, when they go home, the only people they interact with, look like themselves. They teach their children that all people are equal, but their children do not see them interacting or associating with other races. They have never been to a Quiencenera, a Bah Mitvah, celebrated Juneteenth, or been to a Pow-Wow. In fact, they do not venture beyond their own Cul-de-sac, to go to a hip hop concert or a coutry western dance. This sends a cofusing message to children, and until we, as parents, start practicing what we preach, racism will never be obliterated. I recall a mother at Toys-r-Us, having a hissy fit when her daughter wanted a black Disney Princess doll, and she kept trying to coerce her into getting the white one. That little girl was being sent a coded message, no matter what her mother's good intentions were. My home, my daughter's home, is more like the UN. And I am so proud my mother gave me the freedom and the mind set, to pass those same freedoms to my daughter, which she has passed on to her children. Great article! Where do we go from here? And note, socioeconomical status does not necessasarily mean one does not have the ability to tweet.mantequillahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03776267207171798604noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1166669645725536266.post-54167362287630139062012-11-09T21:10:51.062-05:002012-11-09T21:10:51.062-05:00Does the map look very different for other preside...Does the map look very different for other presidential elections when both candidates were white? Of course not. Some areas of the country are historically republican while others are historically democrat.rbairoshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16799107775275880411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1166669645725536266.post-17597850529091429282012-11-09T20:46:39.687-05:002012-11-09T20:46:39.687-05:00I saw a tweet listed from my hometown, and all ful...I saw a tweet listed from my hometown, and all full of righteous indignation decided to look it up. It was an African American student at Illinois State University taking issue with the @MoriahRae1 tweet listed first by the Jezebel article, retweeting for context: https://twitter.com/Mr_LQ/status/266046992956944386 . So not all of these results are necessarily indicative of original expressions of racist thought; perhaps filtering for retweets would avoid this.Blakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07786147162449194496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1166669645725536266.post-28388322426474713772012-11-09T18:47:24.475-05:002012-11-09T18:47:24.475-05:00Probably because Monica moved away.Probably because Monica moved away.Simonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00390183223280623363noreply@blogger.com