In this study, we examined a previously developed Internet-based measure of “area racism” that did not rely on the provision of responses to survey questions and is less susceptible to social desirability bias; it may also more directly assess racial attitudes in a geographic area [23]. This measure, calculated based on Internet search queries containing the “N-word”, was strongly associated with the differential in 2008 votes for Barack Obama, the Black Democratic presidential candidate, vs. 2004 votes for John Kerry, the White Democratic presidential candidate. Studies have found that Internet searches on other subjects, including religiosity and firearms, reflect socio-demographic characteristics of the underlying population [24, 25]. For example, the percent of a state’s residents believing in God explains 65% of the variation in search volume for the word “God” [23]. Internet queries of health conditions have also been used for disease surveillance, including influenza outbreaks, and have been found to be a stronger predictor than pharmacy records [26, 27]. Socially unacceptable attitudes or actions may also be less likely to be censored on the Internet given perceptions of anonymity, and may in fact serve as an outlet for unpopular beliefs.
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