Negative Asian-American tropes have long existed online but began increasing last March as parts of the United States went into lockdown over the coronavirus. Those terms then began trending online, according to a study from the University of California, Berkeley. Mr. Trump also posted eight times on Twitter last March about the “Chinese virus,” causing vitriolic reactions. Since last March, there have been nearly eight million mentions of anti-Asian speech online, much of it falsehoods, according to Zignal Labs, a media insights firm. A torrent of hate and violence against Asian-Americans around the U.S. began last spring, in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic.

Source: New York Times March 19, 2021 21:10 UTC