Study: Anti-Obama Hate Speech Surges on Facebook
In the Baylor University study, more that 20 Facebook groups and pages were analyzed using the keywords “hate,” “Barack Obama,” and “Michelle Obama.”
Dr. Moody said: “The groups often highlight the President and First Lady with features that are meant to be negative or funny such as beards, Afros, mustaches, gold teeth, do-rags and various costumes. Mrs. Obama is depicted as a masculine, unattractive ‘angry black woman.’”
“Most pictures are accompanied with a disrespectful caption. Most captions do not attack the president and first lady’s political views; instead, they attack them personally with racial slurs that build on racist historical narratives. The shocking nature of these pictures spur numerous comments and ‘likes.’”