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Social Media and Human Rights

 

In June, I gave evidence for the ongoing Science and Technology Committee (Commons) Inquiry into Social Media Data and Real Time Analytics based on written evidence that Dr Anne Alexander and I submitted.  We wished to emphasise that:

  • Social media data is subject to a variety of distortions; 
  • To establish a fact, social media data must undergo a verification process requiring time, triangulation, and human expertise; 
  • This verification process raises ethical concerns because it can require identifying the source of the data; 
  • And social media data might be best used as an 'awareness system' (Hermida, 2009).

About this website

This is the website for Ella McPherson's work related to her 2014-17 ESRC-funded research project, Social Media, Human Rights NGOs, and the Potential for Governmental Accountability.