Radicalisation Foresights

An Analysis of Toxic Tweets Related to Climate Change, Covid-19, and Immigration. D 6.3 June 2023

Abstract

This report presents an analysis of polarisation in online debates. It seeks to unpack the ways 
through which toxic tweets can stimulate polarisation. Specifically, we trace communication 
patterns on Twitter to examine levels of toxicity in online exchanges related to the three themes:
climate change, Covid-19, and immigration. We used the google-generated Perspective API 
Toxicity tool to conduct an analysis of the perceived toxicity levels of tweets from both pro- and anti- faction groups within these thematic categorisations. An initial analysis reveals that 
the most toxic tweets identified were related to the issue of immigration, with strong overlaps 
to debates surrounding COVID-19 and the vaccination. Accordingly, we proceeded with an
analysis of the dataset to open a wider academic discussion of the links between toxic tweets, 
polarisation, and potential for radicalisation. These findings are related to a discussion of 
ontological security, which is a theoretical perspective that can help us begin to understand the 
rationale that may lead users to engage in toxic tweeting. The report concludes with a summary 
of these theoretical conclusions on the significance of social media for viewing polarisation 
and political ideologies.