Researchers used an algorithm to show how Twitter hurts the quality of news
UPDATE: Jul. 11, 2022, 3:20 p.m. EDT This article was updated for clarity purposes. The research used for this article comes from the London-based Center for Economic Policy Research, not to be confused with the Center for Economic and Policy Research based in America as previously stated in the original article.
While social media, in general, is influential, Twitter has power beyond its direct influence on its users. Using nearly two billion tweets produced in French between 2018 and 2019, a new study found that Twitter affects publishers’ production and editorial decisions in ways that may be good for business but not for readers.
Researchers at the Center for Economic Policy Research, "an independent, non-partisan, non-profit organization," have found that Twitter has a considerable influence on what content is published by mainstream media. Published in CEPR's policy portal VoxEU, authors Julia Cagé, Nicolas Hervé, and Béatrice Mazoyer detail in their findings the increasing influence of Twitter as a source for news content.
Twitter as it exists today has become an important news source for journalists, their research shows. In addition, the value of Twitter as a news source increases for media outlets that have a high number of journalists that use Twitter.
To quantify this, the researchers built an algorithm to identify news stories covered by both social media and traditional media, called "joint events." So for example, researchers looked at documents (tweets and media articles) talking about the Hokkaido Eastern Iburi earthquake in September 2018. The algorithm would then look for documents that shared similar use of language or "semantic similarity." The researchers found that 97 percent of these "joint events" originated on Twitter first. They also found that the more viral a tweet about an event becomes, the more articles are written about that particular event.
Beyond the use of Twitter for stories, the researchers also investigated how the business models of media outlets factor into what kind of content is produced. Their findings showed that Twitter has a greater influence on outlets that rely fully or predominantly on advertising revenue than sites with online content locked behind a paywall. Ad-based or soft paywall media outlets were more likely to cover stories from tweets with high engagement than outlets with metered or hard paywalls.
"In other words, Twitter influences mainstream media because of short-term considerations generated by advertising revenue-bearing clicks," the article says.
Related Stories
- What is an algorithm, anyway?
- Elon Musk is backing out of Twitter deal
- What happens now that Elon Musk refuses to buy Twitter? Twitter plans to take his ass to court.
Because of this, the authors surmise that the quality of news is worsening for those who can't afford or are unwilling to buy news. And because media outlets that are more influenced by the popularity of content on Twitter don't have paywalls, the researchers suggest that this is generating information inequality that allows for easier voter manipulation.
SEE ALSO:Twitter study says its algorithm favors right-wing parties and news outletsFinally, the use of Twitter as a source may also create bias in what media outlets think readers want to see, according to the researchers. Only 23 percent of Americans use Twitter, according to a Pew Research Center study, meaning that the app is not representative of the general news-reading population. Looking at audience data, the researchers concluded that "news articles covering events that are more popular on Twitter do not get more views compared to the other articles" and "journalists’ reliance on Twitter might distort the information they produce compared to what citizens actually prefer."
TopicsSocial MediaTwitter
(责任编辑：新闻中心)
多措并举优治理 绘就幸福新图景
我市监狱系统首个法律援助工作站挂牌成立
专访四川雅化实业集团股份有限公司董事长兼总经理郑戎（中）
我市监狱系统首个法律援助工作站挂牌成立
Europe now has a huge AI gap, for better or for worse-
特写｜在农事定向大赛遇见和美乡村_南方+_南方plus随着“发现和众创乡村价值”的鸣笛声响起，上千名旅乡人和原乡人在茂名市高州分界镇杏花村开跑。大暑前夕，他们因2024年广东省第一届农事运动会·广东农
...[详细]
-
雅安日报讯 国庆期间，晚上青衣江畔总会升起许多红色的孔明灯，市民们在放灯祈福的同时，也给国庆的雅安增添了喜庆的气氛。5日，记者来到市区下沉式广场，观看了市民放灯祈福。夜幕降临，青衣江河畔依然有许多市民
...[详细]
-
石棉县公安局新棉派出所开展“2010严打整治”促社会和谐稳定
本报讯 根据公安部“2010严打整治”动员部署电视电话会议精神，结合辖区实际，石棉县公安局新棉派出所制定了重点打击“两抢一盗”“黄、赌、毒”及街头寻衅滋事、殴打他人等违法犯罪行为的工作目标。此项行动开
...[详细]
-
市民选购月饼随着今年中秋节的临近，月饼已成了近期市场消费的主角，而网购月饼也凭借其低廉的价格、新颖的外观，受到不少年轻市民的热捧。市消委会工作人员提醒，网购月饼还未正式纳入监管范围，买家维权困难，网购
...[详细]
-
Best CPU Deals, AMD vs Intel: Holiday CPU Buying Guide
Earlier this week, we looked at GPU pricing and the market to see what sort of prices would truly co
...[详细]
-
大院外不文明标语本报讯 18日，记者路过市区康藏路一家大院时发现，大院门口的大树上用木板写着“在此倒垃圾断子绝孙”几个字，这一雷人的警示语引起了路过居民的争议。记者发现，该大院是一个“平安大院”，大院
...[详细]
-
清远丝苗米，清香溢琼州！2023清远丝苗米区域公用品牌推介会在海口举行
清远丝苗米，清香溢琼州！2023清远丝苗米区域公用品牌推介会在海口举行_南方+_南方plus“这米真好吃，比我老家的东北米还要香。”在海南省海口市龙华区友谊国贸城广场的屏幕上，视频中东北女孩正在品尝清
...[详细]
-
日前， 市公安局出入境管理部门采取多项措施，确保在我市就业、就学的外国人人身和财产安全，及时掌握来雅和过境外国人情况，更好地开展对外国人的服务工作。 据了解，在外国人管理服务工作中，为了全面掌控和开
...[详细]
-
Pakistan Cricket at crossroads after shock defeat at Pindi
KARACHI:Bangladesh cricket team's stunning ten-wicket Test victory at Rawalpindi on Sunday yet a
...[详细]
-
本报讯 近日，世界著名漫画家、动画制作人及电影制作人毛利西奥来到上海世博会巴西馆，举办他为巴西独立日准备的特别活动，我市名山县永兴镇淡水河谷希望小学的4位小朋友与来自广元、凉山的小朋友跟着这位大师学画
...[详细]
