Chapter 6: COVID-19 and the Flames of Hate

This chapter examines how the pandemic altered exposure to online hate. We investigate if the pandemic affected previously observed patterns of exposure to online hate in Finland and the United States. We ask, did online hate become more prevalent as the pandemic unfolded and became increasingly politicized? It is important to consider online hate exposure in the early stages of the pandemic because the pandemic fanned the flames of hate. This increase in hate can then lead to fewer people complying with recommended health-protective behaviors and increases in hate crimes, which would increase the overall toll of the pandemic. Thus, this chapter explores if the landscape of online hate in the United States and Finland changed in the initial stages of COVID-19. Initially, rates of exposure were higher in Finland than in the United States, and, as predicted, rates of exposure increased between April and November 2020. However, this increase was observed only in the United States. The increase in exposure in the United States combined with the stability in exposure in Finland resulted in the country differences that were observed in April disappearing by November. The chapter concludes by exploring the likely role of the political leaders of the two nations played in this pattern of online hate exposure. Specifically, President Trump’s use of racialized descriptions of the pandemic are contrast to Prime Minister Marion’s more scientific descriptions to demonstrate how policy rhetoric can encourage or discourage online hate.