The Challenge: Twitter’s API Closure
The landscape of social media research has been significantly altered by recent changes in platform policies, particularly Twitter/X’s decision to discontinue free access to its Academic API in February 2023. This move has not only disrupted ongoing research projects but also raised concerns about the future of social media data accessibility for academic purposes. The loss of this valuable resource has been felt across various research domains, including climate change and health. Researchers who once relied on Twitter data to track public opinion, monitor disease outbreaks, and study the impact of environmental hazards now face significant challenges in accessing and analysing this data.
The CATALYSE Project: Resilience and Adaptation
The CATALYSE project, a European research initiative dedicated to climate action and health, has been directly impacted by Twitter/X’s API closure. Task 3.4 of the project, focused on developing a digital surveillance tool to monitor public perceptions of the health implications of climate change, heavily relied on Twitter data. Despite this setback, the CATALYSE team has demonstrated remarkable resilience and adaptability.
Recognising the importance of Twitter data for their research, the team has successfully collected a substantial dataset of publicly available tweets from England between 1st January 2015 and 31st May 2024. This data, meticulously processed to ensure ethical handling and privacy protection, has already yielded valuable insights. Initial analyses of the scraped Twitter data have revealed its potential in predicting the onset of diseases like allergic rhinitis and asthma, even outperforming indicators based on traditional media sources. This finding underscores the unique value of social media data in understanding public health trends and patterns, particularly in the context of climate change.
Exploring Alternative Data Sources
In light of the challenges posed by Twitter/X’s API closure, the CATALYSE team is actively exploring alternative data sources to ensure the continued success and impact of their research. Traditional media, such as local radio transcripts and news aggregation platforms like Media Cloud and LexisNexis, can provide valuable insights into localised narratives and broader media discourse on health issues.
The team is also investigating alternative social media platforms. TikTok, with its growing popularity among younger demographics, offers a unique opportunity to understand the perspectives of younger populations on climate change and health. The platform’s API allows for the collection of diverse data types, including video, audio, and text, which can be leveraged to develop comprehensive and nuanced insights.
YouTube, as a major platform for video-based information sharing, can provide valuable data on public discourse and engagement related to climate change and health. The platform’s API allows for the retrieval of data on videos, comments, and view counts, offering a rich source of information for analysis.
Reddit, known for its diverse communities and discussions, can offer insights into public perceptions and experiences related to climate change and health. The Reddit API allows for the collection of data on posts, comments, and community interactions, providing a valuable window into public discourse.
Finally, Meta’s Ad Library, a comprehensive dataset covering advertisement spending and targeting across Meta’s platforms, can provide insights into the demographics and interests of audiences targeted by health-related campaigns, potentially revealing patterns related to climate change and health concerns.
The Promise of TikTok
Among these alternative data sources, TikTok holds particular promise for the CATALYSE project due to the platform’s multimodality, encompassing video, audio, and text. TikTok videos often provide visual demonstrations of users’ experiences, symptoms, and environmental exposures, offering valuable context for understanding the nuances and severity of health impacts. Audio data can capture the emotional content of users’ experiences, providing a deeper understanding of the impact of climate change-related health hazards on well-being. TikTok’s engaging format encourages users to share their experiences, potentially leading to a larger and more diverse dataset for analysis. Additionally, TikTok’s popularity and ease of use make it accessible to a wide range of users, including those who may not engage with traditional health platforms. The visual and engaging nature of TikTok content also makes it an effective tool for communicating research findings and raising awareness about climate change and health.
Ethical Considerations
It is important to note that the use of social media data for research raises ethical considerations, particularly regarding privacy. The CATALYSE project is committed to adhering to strict ethical guidelines and data protection regulations to ensure the privacy and anonymity of individuals. The project’s approach to data collection and analysis prioritises transparency, accountability, and respect for user rights.
Conclusion
The closure of Twitter/X’s Academic API has undoubtedly posed a challenge to climate and health research. However, the CATALYSE project’s innovative approach to data collection and analysis, combined with its exploration of alternative data sources like TikTok, demonstrates the resilience and adaptability of the research community. By embracing new technologies and methodologies, researchers can continue to generate valuable insights into the complex relationship between climate change and human health, ultimately contributing to a more sustainable and equitable future for all.
Call to Action
As climate change continues to impact human health, the work of projects like CATALYSE is more important than ever. We encourage you to stay informed about developments in climate and health research and support initiatives promoting open data access for academic purposes. Together, we can advance our understanding of climate-related health risks and develop effective solutions to protect vulnerable populations.
Slava Jankin | CATALYSE WP3 lead | Chair in Data Science and Government. He holds a joint appointment in the School of Government and the School of Computer Science at the University of Birmingham. He is a fellow at the Interdisciplinary Institute for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence and serves at the Academic Lead for the Alan Turing Institute at the University of Birmingham.
