Social Media Analysis Saudi Tweets: Transparency and Corruption 2014-‐an Overview Omar Maatouk March 17, 2015 The Center for Innovative Government conducted a study on how Saudi Twitter users discussed issues of corruption and transparency in 2014. Our purpose was to understand how issues are debated online by people or institutions, how widespread the debate is, and which triggers, if any, generate discussion. The overarching goal was to understand how these issues are discussed through social media in Saudi Arabia, while also developing new social media research tools. Social media platforms are increasingly becoming spheres for open conversation, debate, and commentary in Saudi Arabia. Twitter is, by a wide margin, the most frequently used social media platform in the Kingdom, with over 5 million monthly users producing an average of 150 million tweets per month.i It is, therefore, an important outlet for conversation to study periodically. Methodology In order to determine trends in conversation, the Center’s team collected random samples of all Tweets in 2014 originating from the Kingdom containing the keywords “transparency” or “corruption” in their Arabic variants. The graph below displays the number of times these keywords were used – which was, on average, 24,000 times per month. Detailed monthly data sets were used to determine trends and triggers in conversation throughout the year. ii
The Center for Innovative Government is a new private Saudi think tank that provides powerful solutions to improve government management. Find out more about us at www.innovativegov.org An initiative of Prince Sultan University Saudi T weets: T ransparency a nd C orruption 2 014 Conversational Patterns When discussing transparency and corruption, Saudi Twitter users tended to focus on four major themes: National Government; Religious and Moral Corruption; International Events; and Sports. Saudi users did not limit their comments on corruption to the Kingdom -‐-‐ they were just as prone to engage in debate on international events. As one would expect, they also tended to engage in conversation on moral corruption, highlighting the importance of religion in daily life. Interestingly, conversational topics seem to shift from one subject to the next as conversations spread. Triggers of Debate The emergence of distinct conversational patterns was nearly always triggered by a major local or international event, and the length of conversation ranged from one to two days to several months. During the month of Ramadan, we noted a marked increase in conversations surrounding moral and religious corruption, including the emergence of a sub-‐theme on the state of entertainment in the Arab World. Throughout the FIFA World Cup, tweets emerged deriding the perceived corruption of world football associations. These themes also tend to overlap, and expand into other spheres. When the King Abdullah Sport Complex was unveiled in May 2014, tweets poking fun at the state of the pitch began to emerge. The focus quickly shifted to the cost of the overall project, decrying the lack of transparency in the construction process. We also noted a strong link between international triggers and local government: when President Nicolas Sarkozy was being investigated on corruption charges, Saudis were quick to share the news and criticize the National Anti-‐Corruption Commission (Nazaha), highlighting its lack of high-‐profile investigations and eventually evolving into a debate on the Commission’s efficiency. Saudi Twitter users are keenly aware of international events, and often try to set their own standards to those levels. Our research also uncovered the most authoritative Twitter users who discussed these topics. Authority, as defined here, stems from each user’s follower base – the greater the number of followers and retweets, the greater the authority of an individual user. Those with the greatest authority were often a mix of traditional media outlets, such as the Saudi Press Agency, and various religious figures. Center for Innovative Government | 2 Saudi T weets: T ransparency a nd C orruption 2 014 Overall, what we note here is the emergence of broad and dynamic dialogue. Tweets that emerged were shared by users among their social circles which then resulted in smaller-‐scale back-‐and-‐forth conversation between individuals. As opposed to traditional media sources which are primarily one-‐way, social media allows users to engage in an evolving debate, linking different ideas and contributors over a period of days or weeks. This phenomenon can be leveraged for research purposes. Using Social Media for Research: challenges and opportunities The social media phenomenon is relatively new, and as such there is no trusted methodology for rigorously scanning and analyzing trends. There are issues with self-‐reporting, access to accurate data, demographic uncertainties, and technical barriers such as accurate geolocation of tweet sources. Due to the proprietary nature of social media tracking software, methodologies are often vague and not replicable. However, researchers are presently able to measure trends in conversational patterns, both historically and in real time, offering many new perspectives. The private sector is actively using these tools, studying social media to assess public reaction to new products and services, or to address corporate issues. In an effort to develop social media research tools, the Center for Innovative Government partnered with eTree, a Saudi digital services firm, which has developed software to gauge the intricacies of the Arabic language. The preliminary results of this study indicate that Twitter has facilitated debate on corruption and transparency, and has allowed it to be channeled immediately and dynamically. Vibrant dialogue related to certain topics evolves over days and weeks. However, this study ultimately begs a question for further research: How do Twitter conversations on transparency and corruption compare with traditional media coverage in Saudi Arabia? Comparing the content on both mediums would help to further understand the evolution of public discourse in the Kingdom. This study is the first in a series of social media reports. Omar Maatouk is a Research Associate at the Center for Innovative Government and can be reached at [email protected]. i "The State of Social Media in Saudi Arabia 2013." The State of Social Media in Saudi Arabia 2013". The Social Clinic, n.d. Web. 01 Mar. 2015. Center for Innovative Government | 3 Saudi T weets: T ransparency a nd C orruption 2 014 iiThis graph highlights the number of tweets containing the words Corruption or Transparency originating in Saudi Arabia in 2014. These figures are limited to users who self-‐identify as being in Saudi Arabia, and include retweets. Center for Innovative Government | 4