Social Media and Xenophobia: Evidence from Russia

Maria Petrova, Leonardo Bursztyn, Georgy Egorov and Ruben Enikolopov

No 14877, CEPR Discussion Papers from C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers

Abstract: We study the causal effect of social media on ethnic hate crimes and xenophobic attitudes in Rus- sia and the mechanisms underlying this effect, using quasi-exogenous variation in social media penetration across cities. Higher penetration of social media led to more hate crimes in cities with a high pre-existing level of nationalist sentiment. Consistent with a mechanism of coordination of crimes, the effects are stronger for crimes with multiple perpetrators. Using a national survey experiment, we also find evidence of a mechanism of persuasion: social media led individuals (especially young, male, and less-educated ones) to hold more xenophobic attitudes.

Keywords: Social media; Xenophobia; Hate crime; Russia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D7 H0 J15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020-06
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cis, nep-cul, nep-exp, nep-soc and nep-ure
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Working Paper: Social Media and Xenophobia: Evidence from Russia (2019)
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