Data & UGC for

(Natural) disaster coverage

Rina TsubakiEmergency Journalism European Journalism Centretsubaki@ejc.net

Emergency situations

speedaccuracyconsistencyresponsivenesssimplicity of shared information

Information = aid

Preparedness = better information

Hurricane Sandy by WNYC

Hurricane Sandy by WNYC

Google Crisis MapHurricane Pablo (Bopha)

Crowdsourcing (UGC):

new meaning to “by the people, for the people”A pathway for better governance and public services

Crowdsourcing: Risks

False & Fake Rumors Time-lag Virality

Privacy

UGC = data?

Crowdsourcing is great but data is not solid.

Example: Boston Bombings

Sample: - 8 million unique tweets- 3.7 million unique users- 15-19 April 2013

Research: http://precog.iiitd.edu.in/Publications_files/ecrs2013_ag_hl_pk.pdf

UGC = data?

Crowdsourcing is great but data is not solid.

Example: Boston Bombings

- 29% = rumors and fake content- 51% = generic opinions and comments- 20% = true information- Verified accounts and users with high social reputation were

responsible for spreading the fake content

UGC = data?

Crowdsourcing is great but data is not solid.

Example: Boston Bombings

- 32,000 new accounts with at least one tweet- 20 % of new accounts suspended by Twitter- Some of the deleted accounts found to be ‘quite influential’.

False & fakeHurricane Sandy photo

Real photo from the past event

Source: Mashable, 7 Fake Hurricane Sandy Photos You're Sharing on Social Mediahttp://mashable.com/2012/10/29/fake-hurricane-sandy-photos/

False & fakeHurricane Sandy Photo

Intentionally tweaked photos

Source: Snopes.com ‘Hurricane Sandy Photographs’ http://www.snopes.com/photos/natural/sandy.asp

Crowd Filling the Gap of Disaster News Coverage

Media Coverage MapUnderstanding the media coverage gap by comparing the multiple types of data:1)NHK’s breaking news 2)Geo-tagged tweets 3)Crowd-sourced information via

WeatherNews’ Gensai Report

Reference: East Japan Earthquake Media Coverage Map

The role of journalists & Aid Responders

Data Mining Data Sharing Data Visualisation Verification Navigation

Verification Handbook

verificationhandbook.com

Data Journalism handbook

Geofeedia: Tool to find UGC with geo-location info