RJI Futures Lab update #111

Investigating rumors with TwitterTrails and scraping Web data without code

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PART 1: TwitterTrails

Developed as part of a research project at Wellesley College, TwitterTrails can trace the origins of rumors on Twitter to see how far they've spread and gauge the corresponding level of skepticism. We get an overview of how it works from Takis Metaxas, a director of the project, who says the tool ultimately can help journalists determine if a rumor is true or false. 

PART 2: Web-scraping tools

Several apps and browser plug-ins now enable journalists to quickly extract batches of information from Web pages without learning how to code. We get an introduction to what the tools can do from Michelle Minkoff, data journalist at The Associated Press.  

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Too busy to watch it now? Keep up with journalism innovation on the go with the Futures Lab iPad app. Futures Lab video updates appear weekly with reports on the latest in innovation and entrepreneurship for the newsroom leaders of today and tomorrow.

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