Share this page!

Enter URL or ID to Unroll

You can paste full URL like: https://x.com/threadreaderapp/status/1644127596119195649
or just the ID like: 1644127596119195649

How to get URL link on X (Twitter) App

  1. On the Twitter thread, click on or icon on the bottom
  2. Click again on or Share Via icon
  3. Click on Copy Link to Tweet
  4. Paste it above and click "Unroll Thread"!
  5. More info at Twitter Help
Deen Freelon Profile picture
Deen Freelon
@dfreelon
Assoc prof @UNCHussman, principal researcher @unc_citap, studies digital ideology/race/gender/etc., self-taught coder, won't shut up about music, mad woke dad
2 subscribers
Feb 6, 2023 • 14 tweets • 4 min read
As announced last week, Twitter will eliminate free access to its APIs this Thu (Feb 9). This thread collates alternative sources of social/digital media data + tools for collecting them. TWITTER: After 2/9, you'll be able to collect Twitter data using snscrape for Python, which does not require API credentials. It also supports Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon, Reddit, and Telegram. github.com/JustAnotherArc…
Jan 1, 2023 • 10 tweets • 3 min read
Anita Pointer of the fabulous vocal group the Pointer Sisters died yesterday at 74. You may not know much about them, but y'all gon' learn today. Thread incoming... The Pointer Sisters formed in 1970 with members Anita, Bonnie, June, and Ruth Pointer. Bonnie left the group in 1978 just before it entered its most successful period (1978-1984).
Jan 1, 2023 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
This query has drastically improved my Twitter UX: reverse-chron tweets with >=100 likes only by users I follow. Slower and better. twitter.com/search?q=filte… Main disadvantage is you don't see retweets by followed accounts (though you do see QTs). But that may be a plus for some...
Oct 28, 2022 • 15 tweets • 2 min read
Welp, looks like Twitter belongs to Elon now. As someone who’s been studying Twitter since 2010, I have thoughts. Thread forthcoming… I see two main paths Twitter could follow--call them "status quo" and "dystopia." The labels do a lot of work but I'm gonna elaborate anyway.
Apr 26, 2022 • 6 tweets • 1 min read
So I know everyone and their mom has a brilliant Elon Musk take but I'm curious about his plans to "make the algorithms open source." What might this look like in practice? Like what would happen if he just dropped the code governing timeline content visibility on GitHub? Probably not much in the short term--most people can't read code, and many of those who can hate doing it (like me).
Sep 16, 2021 • 21 tweets • 5 min read
In the interests of Very Serious Computational Social Science, I present: A Comparative Analysis of the 2004 and 2021 Rolling Stone Top 500 Songs Lists (a thread). For those that don't know me personally, I'm a longtime fan/student of pop music, so this is a real labor of love. Also, music is communication, which is my field of study, so I'm totally in my lane here.😎
Jul 6, 2021 • 14 tweets • 3 min read
By now, you may have heard that @nhannahjones has decided to take a tenured job at Howard University despite being offered tenure at UNC-Chapel Hill months after her case first came before the Board of Trustees. (1/n) As I said last week, I completely understand and respect her decision, and expect @HowardU will treat her better than her alma mater did. Now let me say a few words to my fellow UNC faculty, staff, and students:
Mar 1, 2021 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
Black vax hesitancy makes headlines, but the most reluctant group by far is white Republicans--a much larger group. axios.com/republicans-co… Image Note also that unlike the white GOP, Black vax hesitancy is on a downward trend.
Nov 19, 2020 • 11 tweets • 2 min read
Gonna be that guy for a sec and explain how these beliefs are deeply enmeshed with hate and prejudice. Conspiracy theories are the connective tissue between outgroup-directed enmity and denial of the obvious. Those who embrace them are more likely to hate others unlike themselves and believe the ludicrous.
Nov 17, 2020 • 13 tweets • 3 min read
Stand back everyone, I'm gonna present some exploratory data analysis. Responses welcome.

You may have seen the recent rash of carbon-copy tweets claiming a Biden-related divorce and emigration. (examples here: ). Claims have been circulating about possible bot and foreign disinformation activity, so I wanted to see what the data show.
Nov 2, 2020 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
Very important thread on misinfo research (this tweet is from the middle, but it makes the most important point): Let me separate out several distinct points:
1. Misinfo is probably not going to sway the election. Yes, it is scary that foreign interests are trying to manipulate us. Luckily, that kind of manipulation is extremely difficult to pull off.
Sep 3, 2020 • 7 tweets • 3 min read
In this week's @ScienceMagazine, @alicetiara, @kreissdaniel and I review recent research on digital activism: science.sciencemag.org/content/369/65… Three key takeaways: First, clicktivism/slacktivism does not substitute for "real" offline activism--rather they go hand in hand and lift movements to prominence in ways that were impossible before the internet.
Jun 11, 2020 • 14 tweets • 2 min read
Public opinion on BLM has skyrocketed over the past two weeks, but BLM hasn't changed its tactics much over the past six years. Thoughts on what's changed? nyti.ms/2UtVaOL Also, here's a fun pop quiz: can you guess the only group for whom BLM support declined over the past two weeks? (Answer in article.)