This document summarizes a study analyzing over 64,000 tweets regarding hydraulic fracturing (fracking) during Global Frackdown events in October 2013. The study used machine learning to classify tweets by hashtag (such as #fracking and #globalfrackdown), geographic origin, and opinion (pro-shale, neutral, anti-shale). It found differences in the proportions of opinions expressed between hashtags, with #fracking having more pro-shale tweets and #globalfrackdown having more anti-shale tweets. The study also analyzed the top tweeters and mentions to identify key actors in the discussions.

1. Jill
Hopke
@jillhopke
COCE
2015
Discourse
Over
a
Contested
Technology
on
Twi=er:
A
Case
Study
of
Hydraulic
Fracturing

2.
Media.ng
Environmental
Ac.vism
on
Twi<er
Twi=er
as
a
broadcast-­‐like
medium
Hashtags
and
retweeFng
enable
conversaFons
Networked
gatekeeper
funcFons
and
affecFve
news
streams
Use
for
internal
coordinaFon
and
to
(potenFally)
reach
external
audiences

3. Shi?ing
Geopoli.cs
of
Energy
Source:
U.S.
EIA
(2013).
World
Shale
Gas
and
Oil
Forma2ons.

4. Global
Frackdown
2013
Events
Source:
Global
Frackdown.
(2013).
Events.
Compared
to
Shale
Basins

5. • Computer-­‐assisted
content
analysis
of
English
language
tweets
(n=64,417)
with
DiscoverText
machine
learning
func.on
• Random
sample
training
set
(n=650)
• Variables:
– Hashtag
(#fracking,
#globalfrackdown,
#natgas,
#shale,
#shalegas)
– Opinion
valence
(pro-­‐shale,
neutral,
anF-­‐shale)
Methods

6. Frequency
of
Tweets
in
English
by
Hashtag
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
8000
13-­‐Oct
14-­‐Oct
15-­‐Oct
16-­‐Oct
17-­‐Oct
18-­‐Oct
19-­‐Oct
20-­‐Oct
21-­‐Oct
22-­‐Oct
23-­‐Oct
24-­‐Oct
25-­‐Oct
26-­‐Oct
27-­‐Oct
#
of
Tweets
#Fracking
#Shale
#ShaleGas
#NatGas
#GlobalFrackdown
Sample
of
64,417
Tweets

7. Sample
Tweets
Certain
Uncertain
Pro-­‐Shale
@ShaleMarkets:
Increased
Shale
Development
Is
Good
For
Ohio
Workers
-­‐
TY
@EnergyInDepth
for
Ar.cle
h<p://
buff.ly/19Gc3Yz
#Shale
#Fracking
@XXXX
8:25
AM
-­‐
14
Oct
2013
RT
@TheFrackingTrap:
Will
Europe
pass
on
a
shale
gas
revolu.on?
h<p://t.co/JD79txVR8x
#fracking
#shale
Neutral
@Osmich:
NB
judge
rules
#SWN
injunc.on
against
an.
#fracking
protests
will
not
be
extended,
ending
today.
12:06
PM
-­‐
21
Oct
2013
@BloombergNRG:
South
Africa
may
see
legal
ba<le
over
#fracking
regula.ons
h<p://
bloom.bg/1bxLO5P
by
@pburkhardt
9:10
AM
-­‐
16
Oct
2013
AnF-­‐Shale
@XXXX:
Wow.
A?er
watching
the
two
Gasland
documentaries,
I'm
pre<y
disappointed
with
our
government
#fracking
#Gasland
#sacj100
9:57
PM
-­‐
21
Oct
2013
@SierraClubRMC:
Where
is
the
$
Going?
Home
Buyers
Kept
in
Dark
as
Builders
Retain
Mineral
Rights
w/
Eye
on
#Fracking
Revenue
@AllGov
h<p://bit.ly/H1JLwG
1:41
PM
-­‐
15
Oct
2013

8. Propor.on
of
Opinion
Valence
by
Hashtag
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
%
of
hashtag
Pro-­‐Shale
Neutral
An.-­‐Shale
Χ2
(df
=
8,
N
=
64,417)
=
18,632.95***,
p
=
.000
(2-­‐sided)
Cramer’s
V
=
.380***,
p
=
.000

9. #Fracking
Top
200
Tweeters
by
Actor
Type
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
4000
4500
5000
#
of
Tweets

10. #Fracking
Top
200
@Men.ons
by
Actor
Type
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
8000
9000
#
of
Tweets

11. Hashtags
as
“Publics”
#Fracking
#GlobalFrackdown
#ShaleGas
#NatGas
#Shale
Pro-­‐
Shale
AnF-­‐
Shale

12. Ques.ons?
Thank
you!
Jill
Hopke
jillhopke@gmail.com
@jillhopke
jillhopke.com