Independent Researchers and Journalists Mourn the Loss of CrowdTangle
Oct 18, 2024
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Brandi Gerkink, the Director of the Coalition for Independent Tech Research, discusses the profound impact of CrowdTangle's shutdown on journalists and researchers. She highlights the emotional toll of losing a key tool for social media insights. The conversation reveals frustrations over accessing data from social media companies, stifling research and journalistic efforts. Gerkink also addresses algorithmic transparency, exploring how recent regulations may offer a glimmer of hope. Ultimately, the discussion underscores the pressing need for collective action to advocate for data accessibility.
The shutdown of CrowdTangle highlights a critical loss for journalists and researchers in monitoring information dissemination on social media.
The memorial for CrowdTangle emphasizes the urgent need for collective advocacy for transparency and accountability from tech giants in the digital space.
Deep dives
The Rise and Fall of CrowdTangle
CrowdTangle was developed in 2012 as a Facebook monitoring tool to help advocates and organizations track relevant social media conversations. Over time, it evolved into a powerful instrument for observing the broader public discourse on Facebook by revealing which posts received the most engagement. Its significance grew particularly after the 2016 presidential election, as it provided critical transparency into how information—both truthful and misleading—spread across a platform that had become a central public square for political activity globally. However, despite its utility, Meta’s acquisition of CrowdTangle in 2016 increasingly trapped it within the confines of corporate interests, culminating in its eventual shutdown in August 2023.
Impacts on Social Media Transparency
The closure of CrowdTangle raises serious concerns about the future of transparency in social media, particularly for researchers and journalists reliant on its data for understanding public conversations. As noted by experts, the ability to monitor political speech and detect misinformation is severely diminished without access to CrowdTangle's insights, an issue compounded by Meta’s introduction of a new tool that is less accessible and functional. Researchers from organizations like Amnesty International highlighted CrowdTangle's critical role in human rights investigations and in tracking political campaigns over several election cycles. The loss of this resource signals a troubling trend, where the conversation surrounding social media platforms is controlled more tightly than ever, limiting the monitoring capabilities essential for democracy.
A Call for Collective Action
The eulogies given for CrowdTangle at its memorial highlighted not just a loss but an urgent need for collective action to ensure transparency in social media platforms. Speakers emphasized the importance of demanding accountability and transparency from tech giants, drawing parallels to ongoing efforts in Europe and the proposed Platform Accountability and Transparency Act in the U.S. While CrowdTangle's demise is a blow to independent oversight, the discussion prompted by its funeral serves as a rallying point for advocating stronger legal frameworks that compel companies to share critical data with the public. As the community reflects on this loss, there lies hope that it can drive future demands for greater transparency and a more equitable digital information landscape.
In this episode, we're crashing a funeral... for CrowdTangle, a piece of software that allowed journalists and independent researchers to get insights into social media. Not our usual material, but this particular loss marks a huge blow in the ongoing fight for public access to data from the platforms, and underscores why we need to continue to fight for transparency. And the folks convened by the Knight-Georgetown Institute and the Coalition for Independent Technology Research refused to let it go unmarked.
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