Vaccine-Related Content, Dynamics, and Conspiracy Theories in External Links Shared in Twitter COVID-19 Conversations: A Computational Analysis (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iain Cruickshank ◽  
Tamar Ginossar ◽  
Jason Sulskis ◽  
Elena Zheleva ◽  
Tanya Berger-Wolf
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Latent Dirichlet Allocation ◽  
Topic Model ◽  
Communication Strategy ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Traditional Media ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Youtube Videos

BACKGROUND The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the consequent “infodemic” that ensued highlighted the role that social media play in increasing vaccine hesitancy. Despite the efforts to curtail the spread of misinformation, the anti-vaccination movement continues to use Twitter and other social media platforms to advance its messages. Although users typically engage with different social media platforms, research on vaccination discourse typically focused on single platforms. Understanding the content and dynamics of external content shared on vaccine-related conversations on Twitter during the COVID-19 pandemic can shed light on the use of different sources, including traditional media and social media by the anti-vaccination movement. In particular, examining how YouTube videos are shared within vaccination-related tweets is important in understanding the spread of anti-vaccination narratives. OBJECTIVE informed by agenda-setting theory, this study aimed to use machine-learning to understand the content and dynamics of external websites shared in vaccines-related tweets posted in COVID-19 conversations on Twitter. METHODS We screened around 5 million tweets posted to COVID-19 related conversations to include tweets that discussed vaccination. We then identified external content, including the most tweeted web domains and URLs within these tweets and the number of days they were shared. The topics and dynamics of tweeted YouTube videos were further analyzed by using Latent Dirichlet Allocation to topic-model the transcripts of the YouTube videos, and by independent coders. RESULTS of 841,896 vaccination-related tweets identified, 128,408 (22.1%) included external content. A wide range of external websites were shared. The 20 most tweeted websites constituted 10.9% of the shared websites and were typically shared for only 2-3 days within a one-month period. Traditional media constituted the majority of these 20 most tweeted URLs. Content of YouTube links shared had both the greatest number of unique URLs for any given URL domain and was the most tweeted domain over time. The majority (n=15) of the 20 most tweeted videos opposed vaccinations and featured conspiracy theories. Analysis of the transcripts of 1,280 YouTube videos shared indicated high frequency of conspiracy theories. CONCLUSIONS Our study reveals that sharing URLs over Twitter is a common communication strategy. Whereas shared URLs overall demonstrated a strong presence of legacy media organizations, YouTube videos were used to spread anti-vaccination messages. Produced by individuals or by foreign governments, these videos emerged as a major driver for sharing vaccine-related conspiracy theories. Future interventions should take into account cross-platform use to counteract this misinformation.

scholarly journals COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy, misinformation and conspiracy theories on social media: A content analysis of Twitter data

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tasmiah Nuzhath ◽  
Samia Tasnim ◽  
Rahul Kumar Sanjwal ◽  
Nusrat Fahmida Trisha ◽  
Mariya Rahman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Latent Dirichlet Allocation ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Preventive Strategy ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
Mortality And Morbidity ◽  
Communication Plan ◽  
Twitter Data ◽  
Social Media Platforms

Background: The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has caused a significant burden of mortality and morbidity. A vaccine will be the most effective global preventive strategy to end the pandemic. Studies have maintained that exposure to negative sentiments related to vaccination on social media increase vaccine hesitancy and refusal. Despite the influence social media has on vaccination behavior, there is a lack of studies exploring the public's exposure to misinformation, conspiracy theories, and concerns on Twitter regarding a potential COVID-19 vaccination. Objective: The study aims to identify the major thematic areas about a potential COVID-19 vaccination based on the contents of Twitter data. Method: We retrieved 1,286,659 publicly available tweets posted within the timeline of July 19, 2020, to August 19, 2020, leveraging the Twint package. Following the extraction, we used Latent Dirichlet Allocation for topic modelling and identified 20 topics discussed in the tweets. We selected 4,868 tweets with the highest probability of belonging in the specific cluster and manually labeled as positive, negative, neutral, or irrelevant. The negative tweets were further assigned to a theme and subtheme based on the contentResult: The negative tweets were further categorized into 7 major themes: "safety and effectiveness,” "misinformation,” "conspiracy theories,” "mistrust of scientists and governments,” "lack of intent to get a COVID-19 vaccine,” "freedom of choice," and "religious beliefs. Negative tweets predominantly consisted of misleading statements (n=424) that immunization against coronavirus is unnecessary as the survival rate is high. The second most prevalent theme to emerge was tweets constituting safety and effectiveness related concerns (n=276) regarding the side effects of a potential vaccine developed at an unprecedented speed. Conclusion: Our findings suggest a need to formulate a large-scale vaccine communication plan that will address the safety concerns and debunk the misinformation and conspiracy theories spreading across social media platforms, increasing the public's acceptance of a COVID-19 vaccination.

scholarly journals The use made of video in the social media by candidates in the 2019 Valencian Autonomous Government elections

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 111-124
Author(s):  
Carlos López Olano ◽  
Sebastián Sánchez Castillo ◽  
Benjamín Marín Pérez
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Communication Strategy ◽  
Traditional Media ◽  
Video Information ◽  
The Social ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Political Choices ◽  
Left And Right ◽  
Political Spectrum

Videos are increasingly being used in social networks for a wide range of purposes, including political campaigning. Here, social media seem to be gaining an edge over the mainstream variety when it comes to making political choices, especially during election campaigns. This paper examines the extent to which social media is used in Valencian Autonomous Government elections and looks at each of the candidate's experiences in this regard in the April 2019 elections. We pay particular attention to the differences between the three networks analysed — Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and consider what kind of video information is shared. For these purposes, we create nine formal categories, some of which draw on traditional media while others are created ad hoc for our study. Based on these categories, we identify which media are most used, and give guidelines on best practices. We also consider differences in usage between politicians from the left and right ends of the political spectrum. The results point to a general lack of communication strategy in candidates’ use of discretionary video materials.

scholarly journals Museum Tourism 2.0: Experiences and Satisfaction with Shopping at the National Gallery in London

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (24) ◽  
pp. 7108
Author(s):  
Jun Shao ◽  
Qinlin Ying ◽  
Shujin Shu ◽  
Alastair M. Morrison ◽  
Elizabeth Booth
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
English Language ◽  
Latent Dirichlet Allocation ◽  
Topic Model ◽  
Online Reviews ◽  
National Gallery ◽  
Travel Planning ◽  
Shopping Experience ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
The Individual

The tourist shopping experience is the sum of the satisfaction or dissatisfaction from the individual attributes of purchased products and services. With the popularity of the Internet and travel review websites, more people choose to upload their tour experiences on their favorite social media platforms, which can influence another’s travel planning and choices. However, there have been few investigations of social media reviews of tourist shopping experiences and especially of satisfaction with museum tourism shopping. This research analyzed the user-generated reviews of the National Gallery (NG) in London written in the English language on TripAdvisor to learn more about tourist shopping experience in museums. The Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) topic model was used to discover the underlying themes of online reviews and keywords related to these shopping experiences. Sentiment analysis based on a purpose-developed dictionary was conducted to explore the dissatisfying aspects of tourist shopping experiences. The results provide a framework for museums to improve shopping experiences and enhance their future development.

scholarly journals Social Media Sharing of Articles About Measles in a European Context: Text Analysis Study (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dominik Wawrzuta ◽  
Mariusz Jaworski ◽  
Joanna Gotlib ◽  
Mariusz Panczyk
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Latent Dirichlet Allocation ◽  
Scientific Information ◽  
Vaccine Uptake ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Effective Vaccine ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Vaccination Rates ◽  
Nature Of Information ◽  
Social Media Platforms

BACKGROUND Despite the existence of an effective vaccine, measles still threatens the health and lives of many Europeans. Notably, during the COVID-19 pandemic, measles vaccine uptake declined; as a result, after the pandemic, European countries will have to increase vaccination rates to restore the extent of vaccination coverage among the population. Because information obtained from social media are one of the main causes of vaccine hesitancy, knowledge of the nature of information pertaining to measles that is shared on social media may help create educational campaigns. OBJECTIVE In this study, we aim to define the characteristics of European news about measles shared on social media platforms (ie, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest) from 2017 to 2019. METHODS We downloaded and translated (into English) 10,305 articles on measles published in European Union countries. Using latent Dirichlet allocation, we identified main topics and estimated the sentiments expressed in these articles. Furthermore, we used linear regression to determine factors related to the number of times a given article was shared on social media. RESULTS We found that, in most European social media posts, measles is only discussed in the context of local European events. Articles containing educational information and describing world outbreaks appeared less frequently. The most common emotions identified from the study’s news data set were fear and trust. Yet, it was found that readers were more likely to share information on educational topics and the situation in Germany, Ukraine, Italy, and Samoa. A high amount of anger, joy, and sadness expressed within the text was also associated with a higher number of shares. CONCLUSIONS We identified which features of news articles were related to increased social media shares. We found that social media users prefer sharing educational news to sharing informational news. Appropriate emotional content can also increase the willingness of social media users to share an article. Effective media content that promotes measles vaccinations should contain educational or scientific information, as well as specific emotions (such as anger, joy, or sadness). Articles with this type of content may offer the best chance of disseminating vital messages to a broad social media audience.

Difficulty in regulating social media content of age-restricted products: Comparing JUUL’s official Twitter timeline versus vaping-related hashtags. (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danny Valdez ◽  
Jennifer B Unger
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Illicit Drugs ◽  
Latent Dirichlet Allocation ◽  
Topic Model ◽  
Application Programming Interface ◽  
Wide Audience ◽  
Media Regulation ◽  
Standard Application ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Social Media Presence

BACKGROUND In 2018, JUUL Labs Inc, a popular e-cigarette manufacturer, announced it would substantially limit its social media presence in compliance with the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) call to curb underage e-cigarette use. However, shortly after the announcement, a series of JUUL-related hashtags emerged on various social media platforms, calling the effectiveness of the FDA’s regulations into question. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study is to show that hashtags remain a common venue to market age-restricted products on social media. METHODS We used Twitter’s standard Application Programming Interface (API) to download the 3200 most-recent tweets originating from JUUL Labs Inc.’s official Twitter Account (@JUULVapor), and a series of tweets containing one, or more, of the following hashtags (#ecig, #vape, #JUUL). We ran two Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) topic models comparing @JUULVapor’s content versus our hashtag corpus. We qualitatively deliberated topic meanings and substantiated our interpretations with tweets from either corpus. RESULTS The topic model generated for @JUULVapor’s timeline seemingly alluded to compliance with the FDA’s call to prohibit marketing of age-restricted products on social media. However, the topic model generated for the hashtag corpus contained several references to flavors, vaping paraphernalia, and illicit drugs which may be appealing to younger audiences. CONCLUSIONS Our findings underscore the complicated nature of social media regulation. Although JUUL Labs Inc. seemingly complied with the FDA to limit its social media presence, JUUL and other e-cigarette manufacturers are still discussed openly in social media spaces. Much discourse about JUUL and e-cigarettes is spread via hashtags, which allow messages to reach a wide audience quickly. This suggests social media regulations on manufacturers are, by themselves, in effective. Stricter protocols are needed to regulate discourse about age-restricted products on social media.

scholarly journals Faster than warp speed: early attention to COVD-19 by anti-vaccine groups on Facebook

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seth C Kalichman ◽  
Lisa A Eaton ◽  
Valerie A Earnshaw ◽  
Natalie Brousseau
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Vaccine Development ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Development Program ◽  
Vaccine Safety ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
The Us ◽  
Us Government ◽  
Vaccine Information

Abstract Background The unprecedented rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines has faced SARS-CoV- (COVID-19) vaccine hesitancy, which is partially fueled by the misinformation and conspiracy theories propagated by anti-vaccine groups on social media. Research is needed to better understand the early COVID-19 anti-vaccine activities on social media. Methods This study chronicles the social media posts concerning COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines by leading anti-vaccine groups (Dr Tenpenny on Vaccines, the National Vaccine Information Center [NVIC] the Vaccination Information Network [VINE]) and Vaccine Machine in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic (February–May 2020). Results Analysis of 2060 Facebook posts showed that anti-vaccine groups were discussing COVID-19 in the first week of February 2020 and were specifically discussing COVID-19 vaccines by mid-February 2020. COVID-19 posts by NVIC were more widely disseminated and showed greater influence than non-COVID-19 posts. Early COVID-19 posts concerned mistrust of vaccine safety and conspiracy theories. Conclusion Major anti-vaccine groups were sowing seeds of doubt on Facebook weeks before the US government launched its vaccine development program ‘Operation Warp Speed’. Early anti-vaccine misinformation campaigns outpaced public health messaging and hampered the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines.

Customer Experience: Extracting Topics From Tweets

2021 ◽  
pp. 147078532110475
Author(s):  
Manit Mishra
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Customer Service ◽  
Latent Dirichlet Allocation ◽  
Online Shopping ◽  
Customer Experience ◽  
Process Failure ◽  
Shopping Experience ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Media Platform ◽  
Moments Of Truth

The ubiquity of social media platforms facilitates free flow of online chatter related to customer experience. Twitter is a prominent social media platform for sharing experiences, and e-retail firms are rapidly emerging as the preferred shopping destination. This study explores customers’ online shopping experience tweets. Customers tweet about their online shopping experience based on moments of truth shaped by encounters across different touchpoints. We aggregate 25,173 such tweets related to six e-retailers tweeted over a 5-year period. Grounded on agency theory, we extract the topics underlying these customer experience tweets using unsupervised latent Dirichlet allocation. The output reveals five topics which manifest into customer experience tweets related to online shopping—ordering, customer service interaction, entertainment, service outcome failure, and service process failure. Topics extracted are validated through inter-rater agreement with human experts. The study, thus, derives topics from tweets about e-retail customer experience and thereby facilitates prioritization of decision-making pertaining to critical service encounter touchpoints.

scholarly journals Characteristics of Gun Advertisements on Social Media: Systematic Search and Content Analysis of Twitter and YouTube Posts (Preprint)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Jordan ◽  
James Kalin ◽  
Colleen Dabrowski
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
Systematic Search ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Corporate Ownership ◽  
Public Health Concern ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Streaming Services ◽  
Youtube Videos ◽  
Different Characteristics

BACKGROUND Although gun violence has been identified as a major public health concern, the scope and significance of internet gun advertising is not known. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to quantify the characteristics of gun advertising on social media and to compare the reach of posts by manufacturers with those of influencers. METHODS Using a systematic search, we created a database of recent and popular Twitter and YouTube posts made public by major firearm manufacturers and influencers. From our sample of social media posts, we reviewed the content of the posts on the basis of 19 different characteristics, such as type of gun, presence of women, and military or police references. Our content analysis summarized statistical differences in the information conveyed in posts to compare advertising approaches across social media platforms. RESULTS Sample posts revealed that firearm manufacturers use social media to attract audiences to websites that sell firearms: 14.1% (131/928; ±2.9) of Twitter posts, 53.6% (228/425; ±6.2) of YouTube videos, and 89.5% (214/239; ±5.1) of YouTube influencer videos link to websites that facilitate sales. Advertisements included women in efforts to market handguns and pistols for the purpose of protection: videos with women included protection themes 2.5 times more often than videos without women. Top manufacturers of domestic firearms received 98 million channel views, compared with 6.1 billion channel views received by the top 12 YouTube influencers. CONCLUSIONS Firearm companies use social media as an advertising platform to connect viewers to websites that sell guns. Gun manufacturers appropriate YouTube servers, video streaming services, and the work of YouTube influencers to reach large audiences to promote the widespread sale of consumer firearms. YouTube and Twitter subsidize gun advertising by offering server and streaming services at no cost to gun manufacturers, to the commercial benefit of Google and Twitter’s corporate ownership.

scholarly journals The use of Twitter and Facebook Social Media in Communicating & Disseminating Weather and Climate Information by Kenya Meteorological Department

2020 ◽  
pp. 11-21
Author(s):  
Misiani Zachary ◽  
Lun Yin ◽  
Mwai Zacharia ◽  
Xiaohan Zhang ◽  
Yanyan Zheng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Research Methodology ◽  
Information Dissemination ◽  
The Other ◽  
Significant Part ◽  
Climate Information ◽  
Traditional Media ◽  
Weather And Climate ◽  
Social Media Platforms

Today, traditional media is still a significant part of disseminating weather and climate information, still they have not been able to reach out to all users of the target audience alone. On the other hand, social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, etc. are used as a tool of communicating weather and climate information to various users in a well-organized manner like never before. Using a scientific research methodology of case study, the research was designed to explore how the Kenya Meteorological Department (KMD) is using Twitter and Facebook accounts for weather and climate information dissemination to various users.

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