Washington Post article claims climate change fuels 'hate speech' through hotter temperatures

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Washington Post weather reporter Amudalat Ajasa wrote that researchers are worried that hotter temperatures caused by climate change are spurring a rise in "hate speech."

In her Thursday report, titled, "Hotter days bring out hotter tempers, research finds," Ajasa cited two studies that show that because of climate change, hotter temperatures are inducing people to engage in "hate speech and hostile behavior."

Ajasa wrote, "As temperatures around the world increase, scientists have documented large-scale environmental effects — rising sea levels, drought and famine, intense flooding and the disappearance of species. But increasingly, some researchers worry that higher temperatures might also contribute to people behaving badly."

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She added, "Two recent studies add to the idea by showing that when it gets hot out, people are more prone to hate speech and hostile behavior."

According to the one of the studies, "hate speech on social media escalated with high temperatures." The other found that there was "an increase in workplace harassment and discrimination at the U.S. Postal Service when the temperature eclipsed 90 degrees."

Ajasa noted that these studies are just part of a "growing literature connecting heat to aggressive behavior."

Delving more specifically into the data, the reporter cited the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research’s study, which found an "increase of hate speech of up to 22 percent on Twitter when temperatures are above 107 degrees Fahrenheit." Not only that, but "extreme cold" coincided with a rise in "offensive tweets."

Ajasa noted offensive tweets saw "a 12.5 percent increase when it was below 27 degrees."

Ajasa claimed that scientists made these findings by using "a machine-learning algorithm to analyze 75 million hate tweets from a database containing over 4 billion tweets posted by people across the United States between 2014 and 2020. The tweets spanned 773 cities."

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The algorithm showed that "Aggressive behavior was the tamest between 54 to 70 degrees, according to the peer-reviewed study, published in the journal Lancet Planetary Health." It also found that "temperatures above 81 degrees were consistently linked to significant increases in online hate across all climate zones."

Ajasa added, "As summers get warmer and the number of heat waves increases, researchers fear that there will be an increase in online hate."

The author quoted University of Michigan associate professor Libby Hemphill to bolster the claim, who said, "I do think that as living in a climate impacted world increases our stress and precarity, we will see increases in aggression online as well."

Hemphill, who the piece said studies "hate speech and social media," added, "It makes sense to me that climate threat would have the same impact or a similar impact to all these other types of threats that stress people out and make them lash out."

The Washington Post building in Washington, D.C. (REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo)

Ajasa also cited Iowa State University professor Craig Anderson, who said, "As global warming increases, there will be, in fact already is, an increase in the frequency with which people are uncomfortably warm or uncomfortably hot. That in itself can lead to decision-making and behaviors that are more aggressive and under some circumstances can lead to increases in violent behavior."

The weather reporter concluded her piece, saying, "Experts agree that slowing climate change could keep heat-inflamed behavior in check."

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