#iranelectio

Twitter asnBanal or "140 characters is

a novel when you're being shot at."
Semantic Network Analysis conducted using Leximancer by
Steven McDermott
cssem@leeds.ac.uk
 Hyperbole?
Leadbeater and Wong have compiled a series of hyperbolic quotes
from a variety of media sources at the time of the protests:
• "Twitter has become a key information conduit as the authorities in
Tehran have cracked down on reporting by traditional media."
Chris Nuttall and Daniel Dombey, Financial Times.
• "After disputed election results and massive street demonstrations
in Tehran, Iran, information is flooding out of the country – on
Twitter." Ashley Terry, Global News.
• "This is it. The big one." Clay Shirky of NYU.
• "We've been struck by the amount of video and eyewitness
testimony... The days when regimes can control the flow of
information are over." Jon Williams, BBC World News editor.
 Banal?
• “Twitter, generally, and also during the Iran
election crisis (June 2009 and beyond), has been
described as banal. The question is, could the
hundreds of thousands of tweets about the Iran
election crisis be made into a comprehensible
account of what has been happening on the
ground as well as online? "For the ppl of Iran -
#iranelection RT," is such an attempt. The
project, first, is a stored collection of all the
tweets that have been tagged #iranelection from
the first one on 10 June up to 30 June 2009, some
650,000 in all.” (Richard Rogers, March 7, 2010)
 How Many Iranians Tweet?
• According to sources the number is 19,235 which
is equivalent to only 0.027 per cent of Iran’s
population (70,049,262 according to the 2006
census.) A survey carried out by the The Centre
for Public Opinion and the New American
Foundation found a third of Iranians have internet
access. That would mean Twitter users at the
time of the revolution made up 0.082 per cent of
internet users in Iran.
 How to Read the Semantic
Maps
• In order to read the maps you need to read the following;
• Using Leximancer, the maps of the themes cluster via concept co-occurrence information
so that concepts that sit next to each other have connections between them. To begin I
processed all texts from start to finish of the Leximancer analysis in the default settings
mode to create initial exploratory maps In the settings phase the Automatic Concept
Detection is on.
• All maps generated were set to the following parameters; concept size 100%, theme size
30% (default setting) and degree of rotation 0%. The colours of the circles, themes and
concepts are ‘heat mapped’, so the concepts that have the greater level of co-occurrence
are closer to the red end of the spectrum. The brightness of a concept correlates with its
frequency and so the brighter the concept the more often it appears in the text. The
brightness of the links that run between concepts relates to how often the two connected
concepts co-occur within the text. The proximity of two concepts indicates how often or
not they appear in similar conceptual contexts. The themes are the coloured circles around
clusters of concepts. The lines or pathways navigate the most likely path in conceptual
space between concepts in order to aid reading the map. The connectivity score reflects
the degree, (equivalent to degree score in network analysis) to which the theme is
connected to the other concepts in the map (Leximancer Manual, 2009).
• And “yes the 11th of June 2009 is missing”.
2009-06-
10 “People are singing the song of
liberty and an Iran free of
terrorism and dishonesty! Down
with dictator!”
“Looking for more
comments on this poll on
eve of : Should Iran be
allowed to have nuclear
weapons?”

“Police pushed the crowd to

sidewalks to open street for cars”

“CIA too out of touch

these days. But he does
serve as a useful enemy
for the US now USSR is
gone”

“Final tweet tonight: Prosecutor General

declares unequal airtime given to
candidates is against the law”
2009-06-
12 “AFP: Iran began voting to
elect a new president in a tight
race between Mousavi and the
hardliner Ahmadinejad”

“Still hear bad

news about wide
frauds”

“Is it blocked? RT @shahrzadmo SMS

doesnt work in Iran. I assume it's bcs of the
huge amount of rumors they spread these
days.”
2009-06-
13

“Clashes in Tehran after

thousands protest against
results; several injured and
arrested, Sky News reports.”

“After an afternoon of
protests... Mousavi on
his way to Interior
Ministry,”

“RT Iran is truly

revolutionary: nearly
50 million votes,
counted in only 7
hours? An non-
digital?”

“ Commission
electorale coupe le
micro a Mousavi
pendant discours. Il
lançait un
avertissement contre
les fraudes. ”
2009-06-
14

“#IranElection RT : Two high ranked

“US MEDIA IS clerics (Sane'i and Sobhani) are
TREATING IRAN AS protesting against the fraudulent
A SIDE NOTE! THEY election. @IranRiggedElect”
R NOT SHOWING
ALL THE RIOT
FOOTAGE!”

“CNN HLN
you have got
“BBC video of Iran protests. to be dry
Secret police pushed away by fucking me
crowds when he ordered BBC right now! You
to stop filming.” are talking
about
Carradine and
not the
#IranElection?
“Our crew were secretly
!?CNNFail”
filming the secret agents,
police & the crowd. They
were arrested and their
tapes were taken.”

“American cable news shows how “I wish I knew, are we required to

much it sucks barely covering Iran use twitter to learn details
riots at all Revolution will not be #iranelection ? Also, has Obama
televised.” made any comments?”
2009-06-
15

“confirmed
Tehran protest
Al Arabiya: Three protesters
from Enghelab
killed by police, Members of
to Azadi
Mousavi campaign staff
Monday, and a
beaten.
national strike
on Tuesday.”

“some other
“Twitter do your 90
voices from -
minutes maintenance
need more for
when Iran is not in need
an overall
of Twitter!”
view. are
those proxies
working yet?”

“Yes yes yes! It's not just

about the election. It's
about reversing the
revolution of 1979. It's
about freedom.”

“Please do not make proxies

public. You are helping Iran
Government to shut them
down!”

“Crowd turns on Iranian

secret police who tries to
stop BBC from filming”
2009-06-
16
“Tomorrow if army come we
will greet them with roses.”

“Just in,Cyrusnews rumors; 16 IRCG

commanders arrested trying to persuade
elements in the Army to ..”
“there are rumors of
students killed in dorms, “Change your
from CNN can we get location on Twitter to
any confirmation on that Iran to confuse the
from those in Tehran?” gov. Today we are
all Iranians I did, Did
U?”

“Tehran is running
scared of the
uncontrollable forces of
freedom”
“ iReporter told
CNN that
"The Revolution will be
PEOPLE HAVE
Tweeted!"
BEEN KILLED in
UNIVERSITY
dorms. On CNN!!
Please RT!”

“he said Basij kill 15 ppl

directly and quickly from the
top of the root”
2009-06-
17 "140 characters is a novel when you're
being shot at."

“Thinking about the students in jail tonight

because they protested”

“RT from Tehran: My death is irrelevant.

Wht is important is that u do not forget
my words. We want freedom. i will die
“I think its best for
4that”
me to stop tryin to
"help" w the RT of
“Man beaten to death by people in
info b/c I'm not sure
black (i guess police?)”
if I'm helpin or
causing peeps to b
killed”

“reliable hospital
sources say that at
least 8 killed in Azadi
sq Monday”

“RT **** All we Iranians

want from the free world is
to "keep your eyes on us"!”
“Australian ABC news asked
to leave Iran. Assuming the
same goes for all foreign news
orgs”
2009-06-
18

“BE INFORMED: Fake

Iran election Tweeters “Redacting Confirmed No-Prayer.
updated list! “ Please delete your tweets about it.
Sorry guys, this is getting harder”

“RTfI: confirmed - the

wife of Saeed Rajaie,
a prominent Iranian
“Why Obama Should Leave
wartime martyr, has
Iran's 'Red-State' Regime
been arrested while
Alone”
praying in Qom”

“The fallout will hopefully be a freer Iran, I

“RT from Iran: Tomorrow march is in
memory of those killed by
Government - Mousavi will lead Sea
of Green”
really can't see these leaders regaining any
control over the people”
“Convinced nascent Iran revolution fomented by
Israel2 recruit millions of spies to find their nukes”
2009-06-
19“16 members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard have been
arrested for trying to join "the people's movement“”

“RT most professors today talking about resigning if the

“RT From Iran: hospital source - government continues to treat university like this”
severe shortage of blood supplies
across ALL Iran hospitals - please
donate blood”

“Proof that video has power.

Make effective ones!”

“Twitition: Google Earth

to update satellite
images of Tehran”
“RT Basij militia --declared Fri a
day for the Iranian nation to renew
its allegiance to Khamenei. CNN”

“Show support for democracy in “ATTENTION: Mousavi Accounts

Iran add green overlay to your Hacked; Protest STILL ON Friday. Again,
Twitter avatar with 1-click” Protest STILL ON.”

“FYI American Students hold Moment

of Silence for Iranian Students “
2009-06-
20

“confirmed - sms text messaging

is working again in Iran after 1
week of disconnecsion”

“RT european embassies are open for

“It's irresponsible in injured, bring them there !!!”
the extreme to
intimate that “Reposting: List of Iranian embassies
martyrdom is in any around the world with contact infor “
way acceptable right
now”

“Now they have excuse to

say terrorists are oprating.
blast 2 wounded.”
“Continuous Gunfires hearing near Imam
Khomeini Hospital Near to Azadi St.”

“according to Iran State TV a blast

at shrine for Khomenie - Al
Jazeera suspiscious of
“Gunshots fired in air, batons, tear gas
manipulation - 1 dead”
and water cannons. Let this be all there
is against them, no more “
2009-06-
21

“99% of tweets are from US backing a

BLOODY revolution. People are dying.
STOP destabilizing the Iranian state!”

“Her name is Neda Aghasoltan. Her heart is

not beating any more, but she is!! And she
will be forever.”

“was about time the UN started RT: from Iran "I have one vote. I
to pay some attention to the post- gave it to Moussavi. I have one
election violence at Iran...” life. I will give it for Freedom."

“I'm afraid if the government shuts down all

the internet access because of this videos
posted to CNN,AlJazeera,BBC Youtube.”

PLEASE RETWEET - Basij rounding

up injured protesters at Hospitals.
List of EMBASSIES taking in injured:
“Remedy for tear gas on skin: Wipe skin
exposed to chemical with a rag or gauze
canola oil. Follow immediately with alcohol.”
2009-06-
22
2009-06-
23
2009-06-
24
2009-06-
25
2009-06-
26
2009-06-
27
2009-06-
28
2009-06-
29
The Last Two Tweets to Appear in Farsi
on the 29th of June 2009

‫تجمع هزاران دانشجوى دانشگاه تهران با شعار مرگ بر‬

‫ مرگ بر خامن‌هاى‬،‫ديكتاتور‬
Accumulation of thousands of students of
Tehran University chanting "dictator,"
Death to Khamenei

‫دهها هزار تن از مردم تهران در خيابان شريعتى با‬

‫مأموران سركوبگر درگير شدند‬
Tens of thousands of people in Tehran
Shariati Street officers were involved in
suppression
 Acknowledgements
For the ppl of Iran - #iranelection RT“ led by Richard
Rogers. Programming by Erik Borra, design by Marieke
van Dijk and editorial by Kimberley Spreeuwenberg
and Esther Weltevrede. #iranelection RT is online at
http://www.rettiwt.net/ (request login at
issuecrawler.net).
All data for this presentation has been sourced from
#iranelection RT.
Contact for further information regarding this powerpoint
– cssem@leeds.ac.uk
Steven McDermott is a Doctoral Candidate and Research
Assistant at the Institute of Communications Studies
at the University of Leeds.
Personal Website http://snacda.wordpress.com
•
Neda’s Tweets?
MOUSAVI HAS ASK THE WORLD TO PARTICIPATE IN SEA OF GREEN IN ALL CAPITAL CITIES THIS SUNDAY - 2009-06-18T23:09:33Z
• Mehdi Karoubi letter to National Security Council - shoraye negahban - 2009-06-19T16:20:37Z
• Mousavi - Confirmed - calls for ALL the nation to stand on balconys TONIGHT and show support with 'Allah Akbar' - 2009-06-19T16:21:39Z
• confirmed - 2 student activist arrested - Alirezah Khshbakht & Zahra Toheedi - 2009-06-19T16:22:04Z
• The CRUCIAL Demonstration on Saturday 16:00 in Tehran and all around the world, please spread this message around - 2009-06-19T17:12:34Z
• confirmed - IRIB.ir - HACKED - Dos Dos Dos Dos - RT RT RT - 2009-06-19T18:58:29Z
• Tonight in cities across iran, gun shots fired into air try to scare ppl,ppl just respond with louder chants of "God is great“ - 2009-06-19T20:23:30Z
• Breaking News: Text Messaging is back. Reporting at 2:5 am. The question is "Why?“- 2009-06-19T21:44:51Z
• Mir Hossein Mousavi is safe and well - preparing for tomorrow - Sea of Green - 2009-06-19T22:49:40Z
• RT Iran) PLEASE RT ALL UR Followers: STRATEGIC NONVIOLENT PROTEST MANUAL - 2009-06-20T09:08:08Z
• from too many sources; rally NOT cancelled. rumors of cancellation are disinfo from govt - 2009-06-20T09:30:16Z
• RT Iran: BBC Persia: the rally will take place from Meydane Enghelab to Meydan Azadi as planned - 2009-06-20T10:16:34Z
• RT from Iran: Beware of ppl on twitter trying to confuse you. Mousavi is safe and rally is going ahead. - 2009-06-20T10:22:45Z
• Protect against tear gas: avoid oils, lotions and detergents. Wash clothes, hair and skin beforehand in detergent-free soap - 2009-06-20T10:30:26Z
• Reports: Mobile networks are down around Enghelab Sq. - 2009-06-20T10:31:11Z
• RT: PLEASE TELL ALL PROTESTORS: CARRY QURAN: ISLAMIC LAW STATES ITS A SIN TO KILL ANYONE WITH A QURAN IN HAND - 2009-06-20T10:39:53Z
• We going to Azadi Square now in Tehran. Pray for us! 2day is our INDEPENDENCE DAY from all tyranny! Thank you World! - 2009-06-20T11:04:42Z
• RT vrtsflipflop: RT RT iranixRT: Confirmed: @giti456789 is Iranian govt agent... PLEASE RT!! - 2009-06-20T12:41:59Z
• First reaction of many people to bomb "it was the Government” - 2009-06-20T13:38:48Z
• RT shooting into unarmed crowd!! - 2009-06-20T13:53:12Z
• RT SOLIDARITY! Set up a Tor bridge: - 2009-06-20T14:12:15Z
• DONT SPLIT! RT From Iran: About 5000 Protesters pushing back Police, Bassij & Hezbollah to Azadi St - 2009-06-20T14:46:07Z
• RT european embassies are open for injured, bring them there !!! - 2009-06-20T15:05:45Z
• Continuous Gunfires hearing near Imam Khomeini Hospital Near to Azadi St. - 2009-06-20T16:09:50Z
• Please spread: http://bit.ly/1EFn - 2009-06-20T16:39:12Z
• Mousavi - confirmed - IF I AM ARRESTED THE NATION IS TO STRIKE INDEFINITELY - 2009-06-20T16:40:13Z
• Site listing fake/possible govt twitter accounts. View and block - 2009-06-20T16:42:02Z
• Call from Iran reports severe skin burns due to the unknown liquid dropped from helicopters. - 2009-06-20T19:05:12Z
• TRANSLATE: #Neda Salehi buried today very quickly and under high security measures - 2009-06-21T19:46:08Z
• RT A partial list of arrested journos/bloggers/politicians http://bit.ly/BHmc5 - 2009-06-22T06:21:32Z
• Karroubi will publish an announcement later today - 2009-06-22T08:47:02Z
• all roads and aley ways around Interior Ministry closed with concrete blocs and guards - 2009-06-22T12:11:30Z