When discussions on a particular subject converge and multiply, this subject will likely appear on Twitter’s trending list, ranked by popularity – that is, the frequency in which the phrase or hashtag is mentioned. Most of the time, phrases and hashtags trend organically when commentary on a particular subject converges in a natural way, by following the usual social pathways. In this article, journalists will learn how to assess and verify accounts involved in the dissemination of false hashtags and Twitter trends, and learn how to further verify accounts which share and retweet these false hashtags by using Hoaxy – a social media analysis tool developed by the Observatory on Social Media at Indiana University.īefore we start using this technology to verify trending topics, we need to know the difference between real trends and fake trends, whether hashtags or keywords. A 2018 BBC investigation even found that companies, including some in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, offer content manipulation services on platforms like Twitter for as low as $150, allowing various spammy hashtags and phrases to trend at the behest of automated accounts and concerted spam efforts. Many parties, including non-state actors, so-called “electronic armies” of ideological influencers, and even governments themselves, have an interest in manipulating content online. Trends on Twitter are not always accurate, however, and sometimes include false hashtags which may lead to false or misleading news reports as information disseminates at a rapid pace within the modern newsroom. Many journalists use Twitter to make editorial determinations, catering their coverage to what is perceived as popular – and analysis of “semantic similarity” between news reports has even revealed a link between what reporters see on their own Twitter feeds, and what coverage ultimately makes it to air or print. At first glance, the Trending list on Twitter seems to be a major criterion for the most important topics in circulation.
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