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UrduBanned from Twitter indefinitely and from Facebook for until 2023, embattled former President Donald Trump filed class action lawsuits July 7, against Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, and Google CEO Sundar Pichai. In this latest step, Trump…
Tag: Twitter
Does deplatforming work? Research explores effects of banning users from social network platforms
Article title: Understanding the Effect of Deplatforming on Social Networks Authors: Shiza Ali, Mohammad Hammas Saeed, Esraa Aldreabi, Jeremy Blackburn, Emiliano De Cristofaro, Savvas Zannettou, Gianluca Stringhini From the authors: “We find that users who get banned on Twitter/Reddit exhibit an…
Puerto Rico, Coronavirus Among Top Latino Twitter Topics During 2020 Election
Latinos discussed Puerto Rico and the COVID-19 pandemic more than any other subject on Twitter in the run-up to the 2020 election, according to researchers at the George Washington University. Spanish-language tweets mentioning “freedom” and “socialism” were also popular, while topics such as Obamacare and immigration did not gain much traction.
Flagging coronavirus misinformation tweets changes user behaviors, UAH research shows
When Twitter flags tweets containing coronavirus misinformation, that really does affect the degree of validity most people ascribe to those messages, says new research based on a novel branching survey by three professors at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), a part of the University of Alabama System.
Trump’s “Chinese Virus” Tweet Linked to Rise of Anti-Asian Hashtags on Twitter
Dr. Yulin Hswen is an assistant professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at UC San Francisco. Her current research seeks to identify attitudes, feelings, and beliefs that influence population behavior and health. Through the collection of unconventional and underground online social…
Health ads in users’ customized online sites may evoke negative reactions
Tweaking the look of a social media profile may subtly alter a person’s reaction to the health messages that appear on that site, according to researchers. They add that these reactions could influence whether the users heed the advice of those messages.
India’s academic, online freedoms under fire as government cracks down
After initially resisting demands to remove users criticizing the Indian government from its platform, Twitter blocked hundreds of accounts this week as the Narendra Modi’s government threatened action against Twitter employees. Sital Kalantry, professor of law at Cornell University, is…
Social media shutdown
FACULTY Q&A The move by Twitter, Facebook and Snapchat to remove or suspend President Donald Trump’s accounts and decisions by Google, Apple and Amazon that led to a shutdown of Parler continues to bring questions about the unchecked power of…
@FreeSpeechMTSU director @KenPaulson1 reminds 1st Amendment doesn’t say @Twitter & @Facebook shall make no rules.
Ken Paulson, director of the Free Speech Center, at Middle Tennessee State University, is available to provide expertise on how First Amendment Rights apply to social media. In this interview, he breaks down the First Amendment and Free Speech as…
Expert can discuss future of social media and its impact on U.S. democracy
Expert can discuss future of social media and its impact on U.S. democracy Monica Stephens’ research focuses on social media and societal trends, including incivility and misinformation on social media BUFFALO, N.Y. — University at Buffalo expert Monica Stephens is…
AI can predict Twitter users likely to spread disinformation before they do it
University of Sheffield researchers have developed an artificial intelligence-based algorithm that can accurately predict (79.7 per cent) which Twitter users are likely to share content from unreliable news sources before they actually do it
From the heart: Study shows impact of social media appeals from COVID-19 frontliners
Anyone who’s on social media right now has probably seen them: Passionate pleas from health care workers, asking for the public to realize how bad the COVID-19 pandemic has gotten, and urging them to take steps to slow the spread of coronavirus.
But do these first-person posts from the heart actually have any effect? A new study suggests so.
Ad-free, censorship-free social sites MeWe, Parler see surge in interest postelection
Since the Nov. 3 election, people—particularly President Trump supporters—have been flocking to social media platforms Parler and MeWe, which promise ad-free or uncensored experiences.
Analysis of Trump’s tweets reveals systematic diversion of the media
New research published today in Nature Communications claims to provide the first evidence-based analysis demonstrating the US President’s Twitter account has been routinely deployed to divert attention away from a topic potentially harmful to his reputation, in turn suppressing negative related media coverage.
Final GW Election Model Project Using Twitter Activity Forecasts Sizable Biden Victory
The final PEORIA Project election forecast from the George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management (GSPM) predicts former Vice President Joe Biden will win the electoral vote count for the 2020 presidential election.
How a Twitter hashtag provides insights for doctors and support for people with breast cancer
A UCLA-led review of nine years of social media posts with the hashtag #BCSM suggests that Twitter can be a useful resource not only for patients, but also for physicians and researchers.
Expert: How geotagged content is used in research
In a commentary published in the journal Nature Human Behavior, researchers discuss how Twitter’s decision to remove users’ ability to tag precise locations of Tweets might affect research in disaster response, public health and other areas.
Influence of bots on spreading vaccine information not as big as you think
The role of bots in spreading vaccine-critical information on Twitter is limited, and rarely cross paths with active Twitter users, finds study led by University of Sydney.
Risk Communication Expert Offers Public Health Guide to COVID-19 Retweets
Researchers analyzed 150,000 tweets about COVID-19 from about 700 state and local agencies between February and April 2020 to see what factors led to the most retweets.
Tweets Show Vapers Rarely Use E-cigarettes to Quit Smoking or Improve Health
The vast majority of Twitter users who vape with JUUL e-cigarettes are not using the devices to stop smoking or to improve their health, according to a research team led by University of Utah Health scientists.
When do people retweet health agencies’ COVID-19 messages?
An analysis of Twitter messages has surfaced certain features of COVID-19-related tweets by public health agencies that were associated with a higher likelihood of the tweets being passed along—“retweeted”—by individual Twitter users.
Researchers See an Increase in Fraudulent COVID-19 Posts on Social Media
In a new study from UC San Diego School of Medicine, thousands of fake social media posts tied to COVID-19 and financial scams are found on two popular platforms.
UA Little Rock to develop web-based tool to detect social media bots for Navy
In partnership with Kairos Research, the University of Arkansas at Little Rock has been awarded a contract from the U.S. Office of Naval Research to develop a web-based tool and app to detect bot accounts on Twitter.
Age discrimination seen @Twitter during #COVID19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has created a perfect storm for age discrimination on social media.
A Novel Strategy for Quickly Identifying Twitter Trolls
Two algorithms that account for distinctive use of repeated words and word pairs require as few as 50 tweets to accurately distinguish deceptive “troll” messages from those posted by public figures.
TikTok ban reasonable given the threat of Chinese surveillance
The House of Representatives voted this week to ban TikTok from government-issued devices amid concerns that the Chinese-owned social media company’s access to U.S. data poses a national security threat. Sarah Kreps, professor of government at Cornell University, studies misinformation…
Twitter Data Reveals Global Communication Network
Twitter mentions show distinct community structure patterns resulting from communication preferences of individuals affected by physical distance between users and commonalities, such as shared language and history. While previous investigations have identified patterns using other data, such as mobile phone usage and Facebook friend connections, research from the New England Complex Systems Institute looks at the collective effect of message transfer in the global community. The group’s results are reported in the journal Chaos.
Candidates who use humor on Twitter may find the joke is on them
Political candidates’ use of humor on social media could sometimes backfire on them with potential supporters, new research suggests.
Project investigating fever-related data as early indicator of COVID-19 outbreaks
Nebraska engineer Fadi Alsaleem believes putting a smart thermometer to the ear could mean putting an ear to the ground for future COVID-19 outbreaks and the consequences of relaxing social distancing.
In Trump v. Twitter: ‘Twitter will win’
As America’s general election looms, Tim Weninger, the Frank M. Friemann Collegiate Associate Professor of Engineering at Notre Dame, discusses the current state of social media, the dangers of disinformation and how users can get smarter about what they share.
Trump escalates war with Twitter
President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at limiting the broad legal protections enjoyed by social media companies after Twitter flagged his posts as being incendiary and misleading. Experts weigh in on whether social media platforms should be responsible for fact-checking.
President’s Executive Order more political than legal, but may spur Congress to change the law
President Trump’s Executive Order to regulate social media after Twitter flagged one of his tweets won’t change current law, but may fall on favorable ears in Congress to change the law to his liking, according to Erin Kelly, who is…
For Twitter, Facebook and other social platforms, change will have to start at the top
While many are applauding Twitter for taking a stand against misleading and incedinary Tweets, a University of Delaware professor doesn’t see real change happening until those running the company look more like those they should be protecting. “As long as…
Freedom of speech expert available to comment on Trump’s executive order on social media
President Trump signed an executive order May 28 that challenges the scope of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. The order limits legal protections that had shielded social media companies from liability for what gets posted on their platforms, making it…
Bizarre new species discovered… on Twitter
While many of us use social media to be tickled silly by cat videos or wowed by delectable cakes, others use them to discover new species.
Twitter study tracks early days of COVID-19 pandemic in U.S.
A preliminary new study from Binghamton University, State University of New York looks at a snapshot of the U.S. coronavirus response on Twitter.
Software Flaws Often First Reported on Social Media Networks, PNNL Researchers Find
Software vulnerabilities are more likely to be discussed on social media before they’re revealed on a government reporting site, a practice that could pose a national security threat, according to computer scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
How Tweets May Influence Substance Abuse in Youth
Substance use by youth remains a significant public health concern. While social media provides youth the opportunity to discuss and display substance use-related beliefs and behaviors, little is known about how posting drug-related content, or viewing posted content influences the beliefs and behaviors of youth relative to substance use.
Johns Hopkins Taps Twitter to Measure Success of Social Distancing
By comparing Twitter data from before and after the COVID-19 outbreak, Johns Hopkins University researchers found a profound impact on the movement of Americans – indicating social distancing recommendations are having an effect.
Fake Russian Twitter accounts politicized discourse about vaccines
Activity from phony Twitter accounts established by the Russian Internet Research Agency between 2015 and 2017 may have contributed to politicizing Americans’ position on the nature and efficacy of vaccines, a health care topic which has not historically fallen along party lines, according to new research published in the American Journal of Public Health.
How people investigate — or don’t — fake news on Twitter and Facebook
UW researchers watched 25 participants scroll through their Facebook or Twitter feeds while, unbeknownst to them, a Google Chrome extension randomly added debunked content on top of some of the real posts.
Audience size and comments may affect enjoyment of social television
The presence of a large audience boosts enjoyment, but it takes just a few haters to ruin a TV show or movie, according to a study of social television, the practice of simultaneously watching television programs while seeing the social media “tweets” of other viewers displayed on the same screen.
Coronavirus tests tech’s ability to stymie fake news
The World Health Organization revealed on Monday that it is working with Google to limit the spread of misinformation related to the coronavirus — by ensuring that online searches about the virus first show information from the WHO. Sarah Kreps,…
Data from Behind Enemy Lines: How Russia May have Used Twitter to Seize Crimea
Online discourse by users of social media can provide important clues about the political dispositions of communities.
Eating and Tweeting: What Social Media Reveals about Neighborhood Attitudes on Food
Whether it be arguments about the merits of pumpkin spice or who makes the best chicken sandwich, food is an ever-popular subject on social media. Michigan Medicine researchers turned to Twitter to see what this online culinary discussion reveals about the people behind the posts, and whether the platform could serve as a real-time tool for assessing information valuable to public health researchers.
Expert says ‘Twitter spies’ committed espionage but broke no federal privacy laws, because there are none
Federal prosecutors Wednesday (Nov. 6) charged two former Twitter employees — a Saudi national and a U.S. citizen — with spying on behalf of Saudi Arabia. The Justice Department alleges the individuals used their access at the social media giant…
Twitter’s announcement to ban political ads might have some unintended consequences, says expert
Twitter’s effort to prohibit political ads on its social media platform adds to the larger conversation that Silicon Valley continues to have about their role in the spread of misinformation on the internet, however Virginia Tech’s expert Mike Horning says…
By banning political ads, Twitter admits unique threat of social media
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey announced Wednesday the company will stop accepting political ads starting Nov. 22, a decision that comes amid intense scrutiny of social media companies’ handling of such ads.
Innovative tool analyzes all 22,000 tweets from 2016 Republican presidential candidates
Donald Trump’s Twitter activity during the 2016 presidential primaries was largely comprised of tweets about performance, style, personal attacks and his standing in the polls.
Researchers call this type of political messaging a strategy frame. Issue frames, meantime, deal with policy, decision-making, and identifying problems and proposing solutions.
Most GOP hopefuls were issue focused. Only Trump and John Kasich, the last two Republicans standing prior to the convention, emphasized strategy over issues, according to a new study by researchers from the University at Buffalo and Georgia State University.
Women Have Substantially Less Influence on Twitter than Men in Academic Medicine
Women who are health policy or health services researchers face a significant disparity in social media influence compared to their male peers, according to a new study from researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Although the average number of tweets among all researchers tend to be consistent, women trail behind men in follower counts, regardless of how active they are on Twitter. The findings, which hold implications for larger questions around gender disparities in academic medicine, are published today in JAMA Internal Medicine.