19/03/2020 When journalists report social media as public opinion

When
journalists
report social
media as public
opinion
Journalists should be careful when using social
media posts to report what the public thinks, and
should tell readers how the data was collected.
Elizabeth Dubois, Anatoliy Gruzd, Jenna Jacobson
September 28, 2018 

A
s digital data about people grows, journalists are increasingly turning to social media
platforms such as Twitter and Facebook to find information. One trend in journalism,
particularly in political reporting, is the compiling of publicly available social media data to
infer and report on public opinion. Whether it’s reporting on what topics are trending, analyzing
whether the Twittersphere is expressing positive or negative sentiment toward a political candidate
or quoting Facebook users’ posts in a news report, journalists are using online comments and
discussions to say something about public opinion and enrich their political reporting.

The problem is: What a journalist can discern from publicly available social media data is not
exactly what is typically thought of as “public opinion.” Just because social media posts are freely
available doesn’t mean they accurately represent what the public thinks or feels about political
issues. And as fear of disinformation grows with every passing year, the way that public sentiment
is compiled is more important than ever.
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We explored the topic recently in a

survey conducted by the Ryerson
University Social Media Lab, and we
found that this journalistic practice is
not something all Canadians are
comfortable with. That in itself brings
ethical challenges.

When we say “publicly available social

media data,” we mean social media
posts that have been made from a
public account or have been posted
with a “public” privacy setting. This
content is available to anyone and can
be collected using an automated
script, a social media application such
as Tweetdeck, or simply by searching directly on the social media site. It is important to consider
both the effectiveness and the ethics of using this data to infer public opinion.

Opinions derived from social media are not representative of the general public

Not everyone uses social media, and only a small percentage of social media users contribute their
opinion to online discussions. Twitter is the “go-to” platform for opinion mining because it is often
perceived as being public. But, our survey of 1,500 Canadian Internet users (age 18+) found that
only 42 percent of respondents report having a Twitter account. Of those Twitter users, fewer than
half visit the platform daily, and even a smaller percentage ever contribute their opinions online.
Considering how Internet accessibility and digital literacy vary across the country and among
demographics, it is easy to see that a sample of opinions shared on social media is not necessarily
very representative of the general public.

Even many regular social media users in Canada do not have public accounts. Facebook is
Canada’s most-used social media site, and only 18 percent of Canadians we surveyed said they
have a public account. Most Facebook users have private or semi-private accounts, which means
individuals would have to specifically select to share a post with a public audience for their posts to
be accessible to journalists. Posting in public groups or on public pages on Facebook — a
politician’s page, for example — is typically public by default.

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Even when we look at social media sites where users’ accounts are public by default, such as
Twitter, only about half of Canadians surveyed (48 percent) say they have a public Twitter account.

So, publicly available social media data represents a small slice of the Canadian population, which
means it is not generalizable to all Canadians. Unlike traditional opinion polls, which at least try to
take random samples of the population, social media data can’t come close. To effectively use
social media data, news reports need to be clear about these limitations.

What the public thinks about their data being used by journalists

Many Canadians don’t think journalists should, or even can, use social media to infer public
opinion. In our study, we found that only 43 percent of Canadian Internet users think journalists
should use publicly available social media data to infer public opinion, while 47 percent think they
can. If people feel like certain journalistic practices are inappropriate and shouldn’t be done or if
people do not trust the information being reported, they might well turn to other sources or tune
out. Worse, people can feel their privacy has been invaded, which presents ethical challenges.

The way a journalist chooses to use social media data plays an important role. Reporting on
general trends or sentiment is generally considered acceptable, but 32 percent of Canadians in our
survey have a problem with journalists quoting social media posts. This is because individuals are
identifiable in this practice, like in a BBC report on BrewDog’s Mock Pink IPA. At least one quoted
Twitter user from this story stumbled upon their tweet and felt uncomfortable about not being asked
for consent.

There are at least two reasons people express discomfort with this practice. First, social media
posts can feel very impermanent — even when they are public. In a sea of content, it is easy to

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19/03/2020 When journalists report social media as public opinion

feel like posts will disappear into the flood of opinions. The sheer volume of content can make
people feel anonymous even when posting publicly or at least unlikely to be tracked down later.

Second, the expected audience and context on social media matter. People typically have a
particular context in mind when they post on social media sites. People post as part of a specific
conversation and assume a particular audience. If posts are collected and used in a different
context, it can feel uncomfortable or, worse, like a violation of privacy.

It is worth noting, however, that 35 percent of social media users consider these practices to be
beneficial. In particular, people who use social media to post political content tend to be more
comfortable with journalists using their posts. It’s likely because some people want to be heard.

Ultimately, there are questions about whether or not it is effective and ethical to use publicly
available social media data, particularly at a time when trust in news sources is being called into
question.

What can be done?

Journalists are being asked to do more for less. Newsrooms are shrinking, and journalists are
stretched thin. But they are still being asked to do more than ever as they navigate a fast-
expanding digital environment, under pressure to produce reporting that reflects up-to-the-minute
sentiment. In this context, social media can be a helpful source. But it can’t be a simple copy-and-
paste.

First, journalists should get permission before using social media posts that identify the person
sharing their views. For example, unless consent is obtained, quoting or embedding specific posts
should be avoided since they include names, usernames, profile photos, and/or links to profiles.
One exception is if the posts come from a public figure.

Next, journalists should explain how social media data was obtained. For example, when reporting
what is trending on Twitter, it is helpful to explain that Twitter has an algorithm designed to figure
out which topics are newly popular in particular regions and that individuals and groups can
promote certain hashtags and topics to increase their likelihood of trending.

If analytics software is used to determine the sentiment of a particular social media conversation,
journalists can tell readers what software was used and whether it was tested by its creators to
ensure it is reliable and valid. Providing additional information about methodology and explaining
what data was included in the analysis and pointing out what might be missing can also go a long
way toward helping readers understand the value of the data being put in front of them. For
example, collecting one election hashtag on Twitter offers a sense of the issues that matter to
some Twitter users, but only those who choose to include that hashtag. There will invariably be
other election hashtags that one party’s supporters will use more than another’s. Showing how
data is compiled helps the audience contextualize the information.

This is a lot of additional content and work. It requires time, energy and expertise to get it right. But
journalists need to get it right if they want to use social media data to report what the public thinks.
This work helps to ensure that news stories are perceived as trustworthy and helps develop digital
literacy amongst readers.

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Crucially, for journalists to play this important educational role, they need support. Learning to
evaluate this information and finding clear and concise ways to communicate it is not easy or
cheap. Newsrooms should venture to employ and rely on experts who understand how social
media data is generated, collected and organized. They can help guide journalists with their use of
social media in their reporting.

The role of journalism is more important than ever as disinformation spreads and digital information
increasingly becomes a source for understanding public opinion. Journalism has always had a
strong foundation in ethical professional practice, and this needs to be continued and strengthened
in a social media age.

Photo: Shutterstock/ By SofiaV

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Elizabeth Dubois, Anatoliy Gruzd, Jenna Jacobson

September 28, 2018 

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