Abstract
This paper assesses the comparative opportunities and limitations of ‘new’ and ‘old’ data sources for early warning, crisis response and violence research by comparing reports of political violence, and both violent and peaceful demonstrations, produced through social media and traditional media during the Kenyan elections in August and October 2017. We leverage data from a sample of social media reports of violence through public posts to Twitter and compare these with events coded from media and published sources by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) along two dimensions: 1) geography of violence; and 2) temporality of reporting. We find that the profile of violence recorded varies significantly by source. Records from Twitter are more geographically concentrated, particularly in the capital city and wealthier areas. They are timelier in the immediate period surrounding elections. Records from ACLED have a wider geographic reach, and are relatively more numerous than Twitter in rural and less wealthy areas. They are timelier and more consistent in the run-up to and following elections. While neither source can reveal the ‘true’ violence that occurred, the findings point to the value of drawing on a constellation of various source types given their complementary advantages.
Highlights
Social media and digital technologies (SMDTs) are transforming how both political violence and demonstrations are monitored, analysed and understood
Between 13 March and 30 November 2017, a total of 852 discrete events were recorded. 283 events were recorded in both datasets
The following analysis draws on three datasets: 1) ‘matched’ events captured by both datasets; 2) ‘old’ media events only recorded in ACLED; and 3) ‘new’ media events only recorded on Twitter
Summary
Social media and digital technologies (SMDTs) are transforming how both political violence and demonstrations are monitored, analysed and understood. We analyse data from 1) ‘new’ media reports through public posts to Twitter, and 2) ‘old’ media reports coded by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) during the Kenyan elections of August and October 2017. ‘New’ media reports more violence in densely populated, economically developed areas, with greater concentration in the capital.
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