DSC 180 – The Spread of Misinformation Online

Week 02 - Getting Started

Topics

This week, we'll be introduced to the paper and prepare to collect a Twitter dataset. We'll:

  • get set up to download data from the Twitter API;
  • start reading the paper that we'll replicate.

Readings

Please read the following before our next meeting:

  • To use the Twitter API, you must be approved for developer access. Read the instructions here and apply for a single-user developer key. You will be asked several questions about how you will use the API; the approval process is done by humans, so the quality of your answers is very important. Here are some tips:

    • We'll be using the API to study how the spread of scientific information about COVID differs from the spread of misinformation about the virus.
    • Use your UCSD email -- this gives your request more credibility.
    • Mention that this is for a class, DSC 180, at UC San Diego. You can include my name as well.
    • Twitter may send a follow-up email asking for more information. You can reply by paraphrasing the below:
      • The core use case is academic research in social network dynamics. We will be studying how the spread of misinformation surrounding COVID-19 differs from the spread of scientific information about the disease. This will be part of a senior capstone project at UC San Diego.
      • We will analyze the content of tweets only to determine how URLs/hashtags are being shared. We will not be analyzing individual users as such. Our analysis will involve calculating the duration between the first time a URL is shared and the last. We will try to determine whether hashtags related to false information spread faster or slower than hashtags related to scientific information.
      • We will not be posting, retweeting, or otherwise interacting with other user accounts. Our use of the API will be strictly read-only.
      • Twitter content itself will not be displayed off twitter. Aggregated information about the dynamics of twitter conversation will be displayed in academic venues only.

  • Read about the Twitter API's restricted use cases.

  • Read the survey article Social media sway: worries over political misinformation on Twitter attract scientists' attention.

  • Our paper this quarter will be Anatomy of an online misinformation network. For this week, read the "Introduction" and "Methods and Data" sections, stopping before the results. We'll talk about the paper in our meeting, so don't worry if it doesn't make complete sense yet.