Every nine seconds or so, someone sends a potentially racist tweet. A new study by the British Demos (PDF) offers the first in-depth look at racially charged language on Twitter, uncovering some 10.000 tweets the day they use a language that can be considered offensive.
But, as it turns out, many of these tweets may not be deceptive, or offensive.
For example, about half of these tweets include the expression “white boy,” which does not usesalways about some kind of racial discrimination. Still others are potentially racist words used in a non-derogatory way. When such a word is used by members of the group it is to give a description description of friends.
In research results now, 70% of tweets using racist language may not be deceptive, and only 500 up to 2.000 tweets a day are directed to some clearly abusive.
"While there are many racial slurs used on Twitter, the vast majority of them are not used in a harmful or intolerant way," study editor Jamie Bartlett said in a statement. Daily Mail.
On the other hand, some tweets may be called racist without actually being racially charged - and those may have gone unnoticed. Or, as the report states: "Language is not needed in order to be hated by others."
From Twitter now, they stated that they "filter tweets or remove anything that is potentially offensive, and that only tweets that violate the terms of services, such as direct threats.
You can download the research at PDF from here.