We downloaded a day's worth (July 1st, 2020, to be precise) of English-language tweets containing "mask" or "masks", and categorized the most frequently retweeted accounts based on stance on masks. 103973 of 558461 on-topic tweets (18.6%) oppose mask usage.
cc: @ZellaQuixote
cc: @ZellaQuixote
Based on the hashtags in these accounts' profiles, there's a stark difference in political leanings between those that oppose mask usage and those that do not. The anti-mask crowd almost exclusively uses right-wing hashtags, while the other accounts mostly use left-wing hashtags.
Retweet network for July 1st mask/masks tweets. Although the most-retweeted tweets encourage mask use, multiple anti-mask narratives appear prominently:
• masks disrupt breathing
• Dr. Fauci takes his mask off when off camera
• if masks work why do we need other precautions?
• masks disrupt breathing
• Dr. Fauci takes his mask off when off camera
• if masks work why do we need other precautions?
The media sources linked from tweets about masks are mostly mainstream sites, with a significant minority of right-wing conspiracy sites. In a plot twist that isn't, the content being linked from these sites align with anti-mask narratives (examples from OANN).
(more examples of articles being spread widely in anti-mask tweets, this time from Wayne Dupree and Gateway Pundit)
Also while researching this thread we learned about the heretofore undiscovered liberal bias of Fox News. Thanks for clearing that up for us, @TrumpRulzz!
