We are not a virus: repercussions of anti-Asian online hate during the COVID-19 pandemic on identity and coping strategies of Asian-heritage individuals

ABSTRACT

Current scholarship has identified online hate speech as one of the main threats in digital spaces, leading to an ever-heightened marginalization of ethnic minorities. The COVID-19 pandemic has given racist expressions of hate a new momentum, directed particularly at Asian-heritage individuals who were scapegoated as the originators of the virus. This study explores the repercussions of this for Asian-heritage individuals living in Europe, specifically their (1) identity and (2) coping strategies. Using semi-structured interviews with N = 14 Asian-heritage individuals, the study shows how this group was hatefully othered online, with severe consequences for its members’ sense of hybrid belonging and ethnic identity. Initial defense attempts were muted, and individuals surrendered to passive coping strategies, withdrawing from mainstream discourse. The study shows how identity and coping were inextricably intertwined. Taking this case as an example for minority victimization during crises, we discuss potential empowerment perspectives for ethnic minority individuals.

KEYWORDS:

• Online hate speech
• hate speech
• social media
• COVID-19 pandemic
• coping with online hate
• (ethnic) identity

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/11/politics/coronavirus-trump-foreign-virus/index.html

2 https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/03/stop-trying-make-wuhan-virus-happen/607786/

3 To disguise identifying information of participants, all participant names have been changed to pseudonyms.

4 This is in line with the increase of reported incidents during COVID-19 (Tessler et al. 2020).