Twitter Contains News, But It’s Not a News Source
by Jaclyn Schiff on 04/27/09 at 7:30 pm
I just read this CNN article describing Twitter’s role in perpetuating rumors and poor information since news of the global swine flu outbreak broke. According to the article:
Some observers say Twitter — a micro-blogging site where users post 140-character messages — has become a hotbed of unnecessary hype and misinformation about the outbreak, which is thought to have claimed more than 100 lives in Mexico.
“This is a good example of why [Twitter is] headed in that wrong direction, because it’s just propagating fear amongst people as opposed to seeking actual solutions or key information,” said Brennon Slattery, a contributing writer for PC World. “The swine flu thing came really at the crux of a media revolution.”
This really pressed my buttons. I’m a pro-Twitter social media enthusiast (clearly been in DC for too long if I am describing myself as pro-Twitter…) I also write about global health. I spent the morning aggregating news about the swine flu (apparently not actually swine flu) situation, and I also tweeted about it.
Some thoughts:
It’s a Cocktail Party, Not a News Conference
I understand why people turn to Twitter for news. It’s a comfortable space. You select who you follow and only click on the links that REALLY interest you. However, just because someone links it or tweets it doesn’t mean it’s fact. You’ve probably heard the analogy: Twitter’s like a cocktail party, you can choose which conversation you listen to and decide when you want to participate. When describing the site, I find that this holds up pretty well. So if what you’re doing on Twitter is selectively listening to and participating in conversation, then the level of authority of the information you receive on the site depends on who is saying it – Twitter is not a news source, but news is available on the site.
People who have always been savvy news consumers get this. As for the rest, a new medium means a new learning curve. So give it time, and people will begin to rely on Twitter more appropriately.
With Twitter, People Misunderstand in Public
During pandemics and other situations that cause widespread concern, people panic and rumors start. Before Twitter, people were getting this information from somewhere else. They were also sharing the information differently and there was probably the same level of misunderstanding, the difference now is that they’re tweeting and re-tweeting it, and it’s public and searchable . This actually might be a good thing, because it allows information to address public misunderstandings more accurately and quickly. For instance, Twitter highlighted which swine flu rumors were gaining traction. CNN writes:
Unofficial swine flu information on Twitter may lead people to unwise decisions, said Evgeny Morozov, a fellow at the Open Society Institute and a blogger on ForeignPolicy.com.
For example, some Twitter users told their followers to stop eating pork, he said. Health officials have not advised that precaution
Enter News 2.0
Al Tompkins of the Poynter Institute is right. In the article, he said, “That information needs to be put in context by journalists, especially given the fact that so many deaths from the common flu occur each year and go underreported by the news media.”
But that’s really only where it begins.
Modern journalists need to help people navigate information overload, sift through the garbage, and identify great information. They should also be expanding on the story. The decentralization of news gives us the opportunity to pursue really interesting angles. In this regard, the Web is actually a gift to journalism. Content is exploding, allowing journalists to do what they do best – vet, think, create and explain. Questions about what type of shape and model this sort of journalism will take on are relevant, but they’re also the substance of a seperate discussion.
As I read through the article, it continually proved the need for news organizations to intimately engage with social media. When crises do happen (and even when they don’t) new organizations must have the infrastructure in place to speak with a loud, authoritative voice. They need to have the networks in place to cut through the chatter and reach people who might not always read their content. Otherwise we’ll keep reading articles like this one, which really just describes the misuse of a tool.
Image: Matt Hamm/Flickr
James S. Walker
Apr 27th, 2009
Love this comment: “Modern journalists need to help people navigate information overload, sift through the garbage, and identify great information.”
Replace journalists with health care professionals and you have my main rebuttal when people begin to trash talk health info spread through social media.
Specifically on this though, I got into a discussion (I’ll call it that because my blood pressure didn’t go up in the process) about this with someone on twitter this morning. They took the side of twitter being filled misinformation and causing unnecessary alarm.
Most of the people I follow link to good sources (news orgs, CDC and/or WHO), so I guess I didn’t experience what most others did. Like I always say, if you’re not finding value in twitter, you’re not following the right people.
I think its wrong to blame the tool. This mis-information that many speak of would have gone on anyway without twitter, just not in a place where we could see it all and judge its worth/ability to cause unnecessary alarm.
You’re right though. The news orgs do need to have the networks in place to cut through the chatter. In addition to being “fair and balanced” and the “most trusted name in news”, they also need to strive to be the “most sought after resource in times of crisis”.
Stuart Foster
Apr 27th, 2009
Agreed. You can find news within Twitter streams…but to be considered news requires sourcing, fact checking and an unbiased perspective.
However, this is tough to find without looking, if you take tweets at face value=fail.
Jim R.
Apr 27th, 2009
I am not a blogger…just a new junkie and I have to say that the media is doing a fine job of spreading fear and concern over this illness. While it is something to keep an eye on, the media is lovong this story and it seems is hoping for a global pandemic. You can only talk about the struggling economy and Obama’s first 100 days for so long before people start to become bored. The media needed this story and they are running with it. While it is good to inform the public, putting fear into people seems to be the new way of getting ratings.
Alex Edwards
Apr 27th, 2009
Bravo! Well said!
As you so very correctly point out, “Before Twitter, people were getting this information from somewhere else. They were also sharing the information differently and there was probably the same level of misunderstanding, the difference now is that they’re tweeting and re-tweeting it, and it’s public and searchable.”
The scenarios of mis-information being spreading “around the water cooler”, or at the expresso shop on the corner, or in the locker room at the gym, or over heard on the bus, or etc., etc. come rushing to my mind. Twitter, by its nature, provides the potential for an automatic self correcting mechanism which is subsequently widely dispersed and readily available to those initially mis-informed individuals. Twitter is a vast improvement over rumors being innocently passed at the water cooler or in the locker room with little hope of subsequently correcting the viral spread of misinformation or misunderstandings.
Jaclyn Schiff
Apr 27th, 2009
Alex, thanks for chiming in. I think Twitter has immense power to help guide news coverage so that it can actually inform! People in news have always struggled with balancing what people want to know versus what people need to know. Twitter can play a valuable role in helping us find a balance there. There are some incredible possibilities….
ShortFormBlog
Apr 27th, 2009
Quote of the night, from D.C. journalist Jaclyn Schiff…
……
Gar
Apr 27th, 2009
I never did a “tweet” before my first million, nor after my second, third and so on. I am 40.
When you have nothing more productive to do with your “off time” (that being no text or emails coming in on your phones), then this becomes your pathetic outlet. WAKE UP and do something. I am the guy who points to the stupid looking suits in the airport “pecking” at their phones. Get it… Tweet, peck.. etc. DUMB.
Oh wait, a flash of genius thought comes upon me…. Tweet – that is sooooo stupid. OMG. Thats what my teenager would say.
Doug
Apr 28th, 2009
A larger point about Twitter and its users is being missed here. And that is the need for responsibility and coherent oversight. Bear with me a moment…
Twitter is NOT a cocktail party – unless you regularly go to cocktail parties with thousands of others. It is much harder to determine credibility on Twitter. At a real cocktail party – facing real people – it is pretty easy to tell who is drunk, who is kidding around, who is trying to impress their date, etc, etc.
The analogy with a cocktail party minimizes the impact of Twitter. People DO listen to rumors and inaccuracies regardless of the media used to distribute the info. But Twitter distributes those rumors and inaccuracies very quickly – and its is very difficult to retract them later.
Serious thought needs to be given to the responsibility of users. What does “responsible Twitter use” mean? How is that encouraged?
Coherent oversight does not mean censorship or regulation. It does mean assessing how Twitter is used. How many people are talking about swine flu? How many are sending inaccurate information? Who is influencing the discussion? Tools are needed to provide objective assessments of what is being tweeted.
Its nice to think of this as a conversation but it isn’t. Ashton Kucher sends 1 tweet and a million people reply. You think he “converses” with each of those people?
You can have a conversation with 2 or 3 or 4 people. With 10 people, its a focus group; with 50 people, its a lecture; with 10,000 people, its a press release with feedback.
Yes, Twitter is just a tool. But it is not a simple tool. Serious thought is needed to shape Twitter so it achieves the greatest benefit with the fewest problems.
Jaclyn Schiff
Apr 28th, 2009
Hi Doug, I like your point about thinking about the responsibility of users.
You raise many good questions, and users should think about these things and figure out how to get the most out of the tool — at the end of the day most of the problems described in the CNN article (and many other criticisms of Twitter) have to do with the way people use Twitter. Of course Twitter has its limitations, but I think that’s an opportunity for innovation and expansion and to address some of the issues you raise.
Your observation about how quickly rumors can spread on Twitter is definitely accurate, and yes rumors can be harmful. But then you write, “its is very difficult to retract them [rumors] later.” I’m not sure that’s true. When the Dalai Lama supposedly started using Twitter, I think I heard that the account was actually fake just as quickly as I heard that he was tweeting.
Nikki
Apr 28th, 2009
If legitimate healthcare news sources, like the CDC, weren’t on the back end of the locomotive, maybe they could be a source on Twitter for more credible information. @CDC?
Jaclyn Schiff
Apr 28th, 2009
Nikki, not sure if I am understanding your comment correctly, but the CDC is on Twitter and they used it to put out information about swine flu. See this article for more information: http://news.cnet.com/8301-19518_3-10228171-238.html
I think the real problem is that ordinarily, most people probably don’t have any interest in following CDC, but of course during a flu outbreak, it would be a great way to get information. The question is how to ensure CDC cuts through the online noise and is easy to find even for people who might unsure to seek it out.
Reality
Apr 28th, 2009
Why does anyone waste their time withTwitter? Remember that most people on the Internet have forgotten to take their medication today. This is especially true of Twitter, where the hint-and-run posting reigns supreme. After all, the first syllable of its name is “twit.” I don’t think that’s a coincidence.
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Andrew
Mar 16th, 2010
Twitter, while it is a good website, shouldn’t be used for a news source. That’s what newspapers and news shows are for. Because, after all, they are NEWS shows, aren’t they?