As the Democrats debate tonight and tomorrow, many people — journalists included — will be watching two screens: on one, the debates themselves, and on the other, Twitter’s stream of hot takes. Recent reports remind us that Twitter does not mirror the world at large. Yet journalists’ reliance on it shapes what becomes the news.
Journalists have long wanted to see and report public opinion clearly. My new research shows that amid declining trust in polls and crises in polling methodology, journalists have been turning to Twitter to understand public opinion. Here’s how that might be slanting the news. CONT.
Shannon C. McGregor (U. of Utah), Monkey Cage