#Imnotavirus: Pro-Migrant Activism on Twitter Amidst the Global Corona Virus(COVID-19) Outbreak

This paper examines online campaigns launched on Twitter against anti-migration and immigrant discourses and sentiments during the Covid-19 pandemic disease. Its main question was to understand how was the online public sentiment and the response of individuals towards solidarity campaigns against Covid-19 related anti-immigrant discourses. In order to achieve this aim, sentiment analysis of the posts on the micro-blogging website Twitter has been conducted. Three pro-migrant hashtags which were #imnotavirus; #migrantsontheroad and #calaismigrants were analysed. While the first hashtag designated a global pro-migrant online activism campaign, the #migrantsontheroad and #calais hashtags were launched for the support of specific migrants in Calais, France and India. In total, 5763 tweets were extracted at different intervals. After a series of data cleaning and analyses period, a salient emphasis on solidarity and support towards the online pro-migrant activism was found, though there is also little negative sentiments and anti-migration discourses in these campaigns. Therefore, this paper concludes that Covid-19 related pro-migrant activism campaigns on Twitter were broadly supported by online public. However, it is significant to remember that whether online activism can replace corporeal activism and trigger pro-migrant behavioural patterns is still a matter of question.