Towns throughout the country bill themselves as “friendly” in advertisements and on signs welcoming people into their communities, but one Chicago suburb has just been called the most toxic city in the U.S. by a new study.
The study, conducted by Wired Magazine in conjunction with the internet commenting platform Disqus, found that Park Forest is the most “toxic” city in the country based on the number of mean internet comments sent by residents of the town.
According to the study, 34 percent of the comments sent by Park Forest residents are considered “toxic,” but there is a gigantic caveat to that data.
“34 percent of comments are hostile,” the magazine says. “But 99 percent of those come from just two authors.”
Bellflower, CA is just behind Park Forest at 32.7 percent. The nicest community in the country is Sharpsburg, GA, according to the study, as just 0.8 percent of comments from that town are considered “toxic.”
For those making travel plans, the state of Vermont is considered the most toxic in the country, at 12.2 percent, and New Hampshire is the friendliest at 4.7 percent.
The study analyzed 92 million comments over a 16-month period, studying words from almost two million authors, according to “Wired.”
