Month: February 2021

Authors: Taylor Summey, Katy Trawick & Janeth Sierra-Rivera

It has almost been a year since the COVID-19 pandemic began ravaging the world. Many of us have adapted to a new way of life: social distancing, wearing masks and staying home rather than going out with friends. Though we have accepted this new reality, the discussion about COVID-19 certainly has not died down. 

Overall, the top keywords being discussed reflect this informational tone: 

A word cloud showing the top keywords in this conversation. 

Conversations on Twitter :

The worldwide conversation surrounding COVID-19 on Twitter has remained steadily high, with the post volume never dropping below 2,400,000. These conversations were at their lowest on February 4, with a total of 2,461,171 tweets. Unfortunately, due to the sheer size of the worldwide conversation, it is not possible to determine why this dropoff occurred or to glean any clear trends in conversation.

International Twitter post volume.

The top influencers were primarily non-American news outlets. One of the most interesting top-ten influencers in this conversation was @Anime, the Twitter account of the Anime News Network. Their posts are primarily links to their articles on topics pertaining to COVID-19’s impact on the anime industry. This account shares the top ten list with other outlets like ABC News (@ABC) and Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish).

Doraemon: Nobita's Little Star Wars 2021 Film Delayed Due to COVID-19 https://t.co/mh3GEZh1UQ

— Anime News Network (@AnimeNewsNet) January 29, 2021

A screenshot of a post from @Anime’s account.

In an attempt to gain a more detailed reading of the conversations taking place, the focus was shifted to South Carolina specifically. Some of the key themes used in the updated search included but were not limited to: 

• information regarding vaccine dissemination
• reports on the number of COVID-19 deaths in the state
• and discussion of a new strain of the virus that has popped up in South Carolina. 

In fact, conversations spiked on Thursday, January 28th as the news reported information pertaining to the new strain. User responses expressed concern and frustration in terms of this new COVID-19 development. 

Conversations on Facebook: 

According to the available information, more than 166,000 posts about COVID-19 were shared on Facebook during this time frame. Many of the top posts come from international organizations, such as UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO),  that were attempting to spread factual information about the pandemic. The analysis conducted showed that posts such as these seem to have dominated the conversations taking place.

It is important to note that Vietnam was ranked as the top location for users posting to Facebook. Other prominent locations include the Netherlands, Denmark, Japan, Norway, and Singapore. While the United States did not make an appearance in the top locations for Facebook for this particular conversation.

Conversations on Instagram: 

Analysis on Instagram relied on the following hashtags to sample the conversations surrounding COVID-19. 

1. #Covid – 14.9M posts 
2. #Covid19 – 38.7M posts 
3. # Covid19vaccine – 168K posts 

The conversations that followed the first two hashtags revolved around everyday life and changes that have taken place since the pandemic began. Posts included hobbies and activities to engage in during quarantine such as cooking and crafting, uplifting animal photos, and work and family life. The  #Covid19Vaccine conversation revolved around frontline workers posting pictures of them receiving the Covid-19 vaccine. 

Conversations on Reddit: 

The top three subreddits included: 

1. r/Coronavirus/ 
2. r/u_toronto_news/ 
3. r/politics 

The overall discussion of the top posts on r/Coronavirus revolved around general updates and news articles related to Covid. The first top post was about the United States now has more vaccinated people than cases, while the second top story was about the fact that Kroger had to close two stores. The third top story was regarding the stimulus package that passed after Vice President Kamala Harris cast the tie-breaking vote, and the fourth top story was about a child who woke from a coma and did not know about the pandemic. 

Group 1: 

Keywords: Covid-19 

• There was a total of 212k mentions on Reddit related to COVID-19.
• The most used keyword was “vaccine”. 
• The highest day of COVID-19 conversation for Reddit was on the 28th.
• The overall conversation on Reddit was neutral and discussing updates around vaccines and Covid. 

Group 2: 

Keywords: Covid-19 and at least one: vaccine, vaccines, covid, and Pfizer.

• Posts total was still 212 K posts.

Ultimately, this search demonstrated an increase in posts that held debates about vaccines and mental health concerns due to quarantine and the pandemic. This conversation also brought up the debate that corresponded to the usefulness of masks and the Covid-19 vaccines, approximately 860 of them, that spoiled in a Vermont hospital.

Full Analysis

Purpose: To analyze some of the conversations surrounding COVID-19 that are taking place on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Reddit.

Analysis Time Frame: 

• January 28 – February 4

Key Themes: 

• News coverage dominates a major portion of the pandemic conversation.
• Users are re-sharing informational resources about the virus. 
• Locally, users discussing South Carolina are focusing on the vaccine, the death toll, and the new strain of COVID-19 that was recently identified in the state.
• General updates surrounding the virus and receiving vaccines.
• Life changes due to the pandemic. 

Overall Post Volume:

Over 27 million posts were made across all social media sites in the time frame this analysis examined. 

Overall social media sentiment surrounding COVID-19: 

• Neutral: 67% 
• Negative: 13% 
• Positive: 8% 
• Not Rated: 10% 

This analysis indicates that the majority of posts were neither particularly negative or positive, but that there was a higher negative sentiment to be found with these conversations. 

Top Influencers: 

The top news influencers are: 

• @aajtak
• @ABC
• @ABPNews
• @AlArabiya_Eng
• @AJEnglish

The top Twitter influencers besides news sources are: 

• @BillGates: he has been posting a lot about the pandemic sharing his thoughts on it and the lessons learned.
• @JoeBiden: President Biden has been posting information about rescue plans (The American Rescue Plan) with regards to people losing their homes, during the pandemic.
• @NFL: Some posts were found discussing CDC guidelines regarding Covid-19 and the lead up to the Super Bowl.

Authors: Brennan Schmidt, Amy Makin, & Madison Wilson

President Biden and his administration have been busy since the inauguration. The president has signed 29 executive orders over the last three weeks on issues ranging from climate change to the federal workforce to COVID-19 economic relief. The president’s three most recent executive orders address immigration. The Democratic Party has also been pushing for student loan forgiveness upwards of $50,000 per borrower. President Biden originally supported $10,000 of student loan forgiveness and is expected to address this request in coming days.

Social media has been buzzing over these executive orders. Between February 2-7, 2021, Twitter had 4.07M mentions of the following keywords: “Biden,” “plans,” “Joe Biden,” “Biden” and “plans,” “Biden” and “executive actions,” “president,” or “Biden Administration.” Conversation peaked around 6:00pm EST on February 2, 2021, with almost 900 thousand tweets about the president after signing executive orders on immigration, rejecting press photos while paying respect to fallen officer, Brian Sicknick, and providing a 1.3 billion dollar aid package to Puerto Rico for rebuilding from the 2017 hurricane and future hurricane preparation. Despite these actions, the hashtag #bidenlied was trending on Twitter. People were upset that his promises to forgive student loan debt and send additional stimulus checks were not yet delivered.

It is absolutely indefensible that Biden has yet to cancel one dollar of student loan debt. He could do it with a stroke of a pen, and he just hasn't.

— Emma Vigeland (@EmmaVigeland) February 3, 2021

In conjunction with that conversation, student loan debt and forgiveness were also trending topics on Reddit. Searching “Biden actions” brought up the r/Conservative, r/Biden_OnTheRecord, and r/politics subreddits. Several posts were made about President Biden supporting the idea of canceling $10,000 of debt per borrower and the pressure from the Democratic Party to forgive $50,000 of debt per borrower through executive action. Many users also discussed interest percentages, free secondary education, personal experiences with student loan debt, and the president’s approval rating.

Similar themes were found on Facebook, with 178k mentions of the president and over 1,300 uses of the #biden hashtag in conversation surrounding President Biden’s actions and new plans. Users again expressed mixed feelings – some calling the president a liar because of unkept promises, and others claiming he is doing a better job than Trump and expressing support for his quick action in office.

Conversation on TikTok has been relatively quiet since President Biden’s first day in office. The most popular TikTok posted with the #biden hashtag shows a news anchor dissenting the Christian argument against abortion because not everyone in the U.S. is Christian. This TikTok has 14.4 million views and 4.4 millions likes. The #biden hashtag has 7.7 billion views on TikTok, with tagged content from both those who support the president and those who do not. This pattern can be seen on all social media platforms.

What does this mean?

Talk of President Biden’s immigration executive orders was consistently discussed across social media platforms last week. This spurred side conversations about student loan forgiveness and other executive orders, with people expressing both positive and negative opinions on the matter. Some were upset about the president’s promises not being fulfilled, but the majority of people agreed that President Biden has done more in his first few weeks than most other presidents, including former President Trump. People are starting to question the president’s true intentions, as #bidenlied trended on Twitter. Support continues to fluctuate as President Biden signs more executive orders, but only time will tell how this work will affect his approval rating. One thing is for sure – President Biden has proved that he is ready to roll up his sleeves and get to work.

Full Analysis:

Purpose:
To view what people are saying about President Biden’s initial work in the White House.

Analysis Time Frame:
February 2-7, 2021. 

Overall Trends:
4.07M mentions and 38.7B impressions on Twitter

Sentiment:
4% Positive
75% Neutral
17% Negative

Keyword Groups:
“Biden”
“plans”
“Joe Biden”
“Biden” and “plans”
“Biden” and “executive actions”
“president”
“Biden Administration”

Popular Words:
“Biden Administration” was the most used phrase, with over 176k occurrences. Much of the conversation was about the 20 million lost COVID-19 vaccines and the aid package given to Puerto Rico for hurricane damage.

“Executive Orders” was the second most use phrase, with over 74,797 occurrences. Conversations revolved around the president’s campaign promises and the executive orders aimed at reforming the U.S. immigration system.

“Stimulus Checks” was another top phrase, used 24,261 times. This phrase correlated with the #bidenlied hashtag, as people claimed the president broke promises regarding stimulus check amounts.

Top Influencers:
@CNN
@NYTimes
@bbcworld
@theeconomist

Authors: Marika Thwin, Madysun Green & Janeth Sierra-Rivera

The drama in Washington D.C. continues this week as former President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial is wrapping up. Between the dates of Jan. 30 and Feb 6, 2021, there were almost 3 million total mentions of the impeachment across all types of media – with posts reaching a total of 745 million users and holding 18.8 billion impressions on Twitter alone.

The charts below demonstrate overall volume trends in which Jan. 30, Feb. 2, and Feb. 4 held the highest post volume throughout the week.

Some of the developments that occurred on those days included: 

• News reports revealed that five of Trump’s impeachment lawyers had left his legal team due to disputes regarding legal strategy. 
• House impeachment lawyers accused Trump of inciting violence against Congress: Although Trump’s legal team states that the Senate cannot convict him because he is no longer in office, the Senate argues against this because Trump was charged while he was still in office. Democrats may subpoena Trump to testify in the trial if he refuses the testimony request. 
• Senators gave speeches on their impeachment votes.

Whether users tweeted about their support for former President Trump or their disapproval of him and his actions, the messages all contained negative connotations which resulted in a 90% negative sentiment across social media. The top posts from Twitter were divided between impeachment supporters and non-supporters, but similar language was used between the two groups:

Why would we want to impeach and convict Donald Trump – a president who is now out of office? Because it must be made clear that no president, now or in the future, can lead an insurrection against the government he or she is sworn to protect.

— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) February 6, 2021

Only 11 Republicans voted against the woman who called for the execution of the Speaker of the House.

Meanwhile, 61 Republicans vote against the woman who voted to impeach Trump for inciting an insurrection.

Let that sink in.

— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) February 5, 2021

How do you incite a riot that was already planned?

How do you incite a riot when the president said “peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard?”

This #impeachment is ridiculous.

— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) February 2, 2021

Over the course of the week, there was also a lot of conversation around US Representative Liz Cheney, who was censored by the Wyoming Republican Party because she voted to impeach former President Trump. Several of the overall top keywords surrounding the impeachment involved “Wyoming and Cheney,” more so than any other topic. Even actor George Takei chimed in with something to say about it: 

The Wyoming GOP just officially censured Lynn Cheney for her vote to impeach. The Arizona GOP censured Cindy McCain and others.

But sure. Leftist cancel culture.

— George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) February 6, 2021

Other Media Outlets:

While Twitter analysis displayed a greater amount of online engagement surrounding Trump’s impeachment, Facebook accumulated 45.k mentions, of which more users were against the impeachment than those who were in favor of it. On a somewhat different but relevant note, CBS News released an article about Carbon Dioxide emissions in the US which had nothing to do with the impeachment but garnered comments reading: “Impeach Biden, Harris, and Pelosi” demonstrating the overall breadth of the current political environment.  

The conversation continued onto Reddit as posts averaged to 783 posts per day, with a total of 6.27k total mentions. While the platform is known for its subreddits and the discussion of everything under the sun, but the topic of President Trump and his impeachment topped all of the “political” subreddit groups. Many of these discussions focused on the votes of the impeachment trial, with a particular emphasis on the results of who voted for what outcome and the surprise from the Republican Members of Congress that voted against the president. Although overall the emotional aspects from the posts were anger centralized, the overall sentiment held at 81% neutral, while only 2% was positive. 

Instagram had over 790k total posts using the hashtag “#impeachtrump”. However, it is important to note that many of these posts were memes, focused on the discussion of the votes from House-members, or among the few accounts that delivered critical content like quotes from the House Impeachment Managers.

Full Analysis

Purpose: To analyze the thoughts and sentiments surrounding the impeachment trial of former President Donald J. Trump on social media.

Analysis Time Frame: January 30 – February 6, 2021

Keyword group: 

• Donald Trump
• “Wyoming and Cheney”

Popular Hashtags:

• #impeachtrump

Trends in Conversation:

• Conversations surrounding the manner in which the Members of Congress voted.
• Active engagement from both those who are in favor of the impeachment and those who oppose it.

Sentiment:

• Donald Trump and his impeachment trial have encountered differing sentiments across various social media platforms however, there is an overall 90% negative sentiment across social media
  • Twitter – was divided between impeachment supporters and non-supporters.
  • Facebook – users were more vocal about their opposition to the impeachment than those who were in favor of it.
  • Reddit – the overall sentiment held at 81% neutral, while only 2% was positive.

The Super Bowl is arguably the most popular sporting event in the United States. Millions of Americans tune in each year to root for their favorite teams, enjoy some tasty snacks, and, of course, check out all of the commercials. This year will look a little different, though. One of the most iconic advertisers, Budweiser, has chosen not to run a commercial. On January 25, 2021, the company stated in a video posted to their Twitter account, “For the first time in 37 years, Budweiser will not air a Super Bowl ad … Instead, we are redirecting our advertising dollars to raise awareness of the COVID-19 vaccines.”

https://twitter.com/budweiserusa/status/1353674829283655680?s=20

Twitter dominated the online conversation surrounding Budweiser’s announcement, with 9,187 posts created on the same day Budweiser made the announcement (January 25). The conversation also peaked this day, with only 3,425 posts the next day. Though not a particularly long-lasting conversation, it still involved a lot of users.

Responses under the initial post (and across social media) were generally positive, with users expressing admiration of the brand’s decision. Analysis conducted on Social Studio revealed that 85.2% of posts were positive, and only 14.8% were negative. A large portion of the conversation comprised users praising Budweiser for their decision and expressing loyalty to the brand. Negative sentiment surrounded a few themes, including users’ overall opinion of Budweiser’s products and the irony of the company creating an ad to announce that they weren’t making an ad.

To be 100% honest, I am not a beer drinker. More of a wine person. That said I do love your commercials each year. I am so impressed with this move I am going to research every recipe that uses beer and go buy a case of Budweiser. Thank you for supporting Covid education.

— Kimberly Brozak (@brozak_3) January 25, 2021

https://twitter.com/stirling79/status/1353735913436807177

Interestingly, three of the most popular keywords in this discussion (“Pepsi”, “Coke,” and “Coca-Cola”) reference other drink brands. These brands, among others, are also opting out of running commercials during the Super Bowl this year.

Top influencers in the conversation were primarily news outlets (e.g., The New York Times, ABC News, The Wall Street Journal) rather than individuals. This tweet from @ABC was one of the top overall posts:

For the first time since 1983, the beer giant isn't advertising its iconic Budweiser brand during the Super Bowl.

Instead, it’s donating the money it would have spent on the ad to coronavirus vaccination awareness efforts. https://t.co/EIkXuP07KU

— ABC News (@ABC) January 25, 2021

With a reduced number of fans in attendance, top advertisements missing, and gathering restrictions for tailgating and parties, Super Bowl LV is shaping up to be a much different experience than in years past. Only time will tell if this year’s Super Bowl is setting a new standard for the future.

Full Analysis:

Purpose:

Examine the conversation surrounding Budweiser opting out of running a Super Bowl LV commercial.

Analysis Time Frame:

January 25-31, 2021

Sentiment:

85.2% positive

14.8% negative

Keyword Groups:

“Budweiser” and “commercial”
“Budweiser” and “Coronavirus”
“Budweiser” and “Super Bowl”
“Budweiser” and “ad”
“Budweiser” and “vaccines”
“Budweiser” and “advertisement”
“Budweiser” and “COVID”
“Budweiser” and “COVID-19”

Popular Words:

“Pepsi”
“Coke”
“Coca-Cola”
“Awareness”

Top Influencers:

ABC News (@ABC)
Breaking News (@BreakingNews)
CGTN (@CGTNOfficial)
Market Watch (@MarketWatch)
The New York Times (@nytimes)
The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ)
Twitter Moments (@TwitterMoments)
CBS News (@CBSNews)
The Hill (@thehill)
Food & Wine (@foodandwine)

Lost But Never Forgotten.

Authors: Brennan Schmidt & Janeth Sierra-Rivera

Whether it be yelling out “Kobe!” as trash is being thrown into a nearby trash can or having followed his incredible basketball career and knowing all of his NBA achievements, the name “Kobe Bryant” has become a well-known name to all those who know a thing or two about sports.  As a result, the world was shocked when they learned that retired NBA superstar Kobe Bryant, 41 years old at the time, had lost his life in a helicopter accident in Southern California on the morning of Jan. 26, 2020. During this time Bryant was accompanied by his 13-year-old daughter Gianna Bryant, John Altobelli, Keri Altobelli, Alyssa Altobelli, Sarah Chester, Payton Chester, Christina Mauser, and Ara Zobayan, who were also all killed upon impact.

“LEGENDS ARE FOREVER” mural in Downtown Los Angeles 

On the one year anniversary of Kobe and Gianna’s death, also referred to as the 2020 Calabasas Helicopter Crash, social media was flooded with thoughtful messages, tributes, and support for their surviving family: Vanessa, Natalia, Bianka, and Capri Bryant.

Between the dates of Jan. 24, 2021 – Jan. 28, 2021, there were over 1.4 million mentions of the keywords “Kobe”, “Kobe Bryant”, “Black Mamba”, “Gianna”, “Gianna Bryant”, or “Gigi” – with the peak of almost 1 million mentions taking place on the anniversary of the crash, Tuesday, Jan. 26. 

Many of the posts made honored Kobe and Gianna Bryant, as well as the lives of the other victims, and demonstrated grievance for their sudden deaths.

1.26.2020

We lost a legend. I lost a superhero.

I spent the entire day next to my wife, crying, just hoping I was gonna wake up from a nightmare. It still doesn’t and never will feel real.

Love and miss u Kobe, hope u and Gigi are smiling and happy wherever u are
💜💛🤍💛💜 pic.twitter.com/Yiuj2EIagH

— Sullivan King 🩸 (@SullivanKing) January 26, 2021

Today and every day, the world remembers an icon. We honor your life, your legacy, your forever. Kobe ♾ Gigi 🙏 pic.twitter.com/QqoV2YiPQU

— Roc Nation Sports (@RocNationSports) January 26, 2021

1 year ago today, the world lost Kobe & Gianna Bryant. Rest in Peace 💜🕊 pic.twitter.com/NJSwtgakdi

— Hot Freestyle (@HotFreestyle) January 26, 2021

However, there were those who held a differing point of view in regards to the remembrance of late basketball star. One account tweeted about the manner in which many “hype” the death of Black people while they disregard the deaths of white people. Meanwhile, another account tweeted about a rape case against Bryant and how his lawyers were trying to cover it up:

https://twitter.com/aryangoddess_/status/1354093080190840832?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1354093080190840832%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpublish.twitter.com%2F%3Fquery%3Dhttps3A2F2Ftwitter.com2Faryangoddess_2Fstatus2F1354093080190840832widget%3DTweet

https://twitter.com/shroudeaters/status/1353126746543984640?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1353126746543984640%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpublish.twitter.com%2F%3Fquery%3Dhttps3A2F2Ftwitter.com2Fshroudeaters2Fstatus2F1353126746543984640widget%3DTweet

While these tweets all demonstrate a varied array of emotion, audience engagement on the one-year anniversary of the tragic helicopter accident shows that social media users continue to be profoundly impacted by this sudden and tragic loss. It is clear that the memories of Kobe, Gianna, and the other victims will live on in the hearts and minds of people across the country. #MambaForever

Full Analysis:

Purpose: 

• To analyze social media users’ thoughts and sentiments surrounding the one-year anniversary of the death of retired NBA star Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna Bryant.

Analysis Time Frame:

• This social media analysis was conducted using a January 24 – 28 2021 timeframe.

Overall Trends:

• Overall mentions were low two days prior to and two days after the anniversary of the crash, with approximately 41 K mentions on Jan. 24 & Jan. 28.
• There were between 165 K – 158 K mentions on Jan. 25 & Jan. 27.
• The highest number occurred on Jan. 26 with 988 K total mentions.
• The top hashtag surrounding this event was #mambaforever

Sentiment:

• The overall social media sentiment was 71% neutral, 15 % negative, and 8% positive.
  • However, the social media responses demonstrate that users had nice things to say about Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and the other lives lost as a result of the helicopter accident.
• While there were some negative comments made about the character of Kobe Bryant, fans quickly responded to honor his death and preserve his legacy.

Popular Keywords:

• Surprisingly, the top keywords used did not include the names “Kobe Bryant” or “Gianna Bryant.” Instead, the top keywords that honored their memory were “legend”, “legacy”, “rest in peace”, and “daughter”. 

Authors: Marika Thwin & Madison Wilson

This week on Wall Street has been a whirlwind for everyone. The biggest headline? r/wallstreetbets rode GameStop stock #tothemoon by taking down hedge funds. The conversation started on January 11, 2021 when GameStop welcomed three new directors to their board. People believed that this leadership would help the company recover from difficult times by moving towards a more digital strategy. On that same day, some independent investors from r/wallstreetbets noticed that a hedge fund had taken many short trades against GameStop (GME). This investor rallied other independent investors to buy GME stocks to inflate the price. The hedge fund with the short trades was forced to declare bankruptcy after GME’s price increased over 100%. Wall Street executives claimed that this was illegal, Robinhood restricted trade on GME and similar stocks, and Discord banned the r/wallstreetbets server, which has caused public outrage that the economy gives the rich power over the poor.

Between January 26-30, 2021, there was a total of 15.2 million mentions across all platforms and just over 5 million Twitter users talking about the whole ordeal. The conversation hit a peak on January 28, with 6.7 million mentionsacross all platforms and over 3 million Twitter users contributing to the conversation. The overall sentiment this week was pretty evenly split – roughly 48.9% positive and 51.1% negative. Both positive and negative tweets supported the independent investors instead of Robinhood or the hedge funds.

The most retweeted tweet came from @ashwsbreal, an active r/WallStreetBets member.

robinhood decided this morning to suspend buying of AMC and GME stock because regular people were making too much money, proving once again that any time the poors find a way to get any sort of financial foothold in this world the billionaire class will move swiftly to crush them

— Ash Crypto (@Ashcryptoreal) January 28, 2021

Politicians from both parties spoke out against Robinhood, including AOC, Ted Cruz, Rashida Tlaib, and Donald Trump Jr.

This is unacceptable.

We now need to know more about @RobinhoodApp’s decision to block retail investors from purchasing stock while hedge funds are freely able to trade the stock as they see fit.

As a member of the Financial Services Cmte, I’d support a hearing if necessary. https://t.co/4Qyrolgzyt

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) January 28, 2021

It took less than a day for big tech, big government and the corporate media to spring into action and begin colluding to protect their hedge fund buddies on Wall Street. This is what a rigged system looks like, folks! #RobinHood #RedditArmy #GME #GMEtothemoon https://t.co/UhrwGHCjng

— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) January 28, 2021

Elon Musk also expressed his support for the independent investors and tweeted a link to their subreddit. Musk has a history of influencing the stock market through Twitter. In December 2020, he tweeted about the Dogecoin cryptocurrency (DOGE-USD), which caused the stock price to rise about 20%. Dogecoin started trending again after his “Gamestonk!!” tweet. As a play on Musk’s career, the phrase, “to the moon,” started circulating to describe the situation. #tothemoon became a trending hashtag around increasing stocks, especially Dogecoin and AMC.

Gamestonk!! https://t.co/RZtkDzAewJ

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 26, 2021

Mood after seeing #dogecoin hit a 600% increase today!#ToTheMoon 🚀📈🚀📈🚀📈 pic.twitter.com/G1Ha4sJhmG

— Doge Coin Investor 🚀📈 (@TheDogeInvestor) January 29, 2021

Financial influencers on Instagram produced some of the top engaging content as they used the platform to educate audiences on why Robinhood is not an ideal investing platform in the first place. Top posts have received over 12k likes and hundreds of comments in agreement.

Redditors used the platform to criticize Robinhood for their restrictions, shame the company for contributing to political turmoil, and motive people to keep buying GME shares. Top posts have over 150k upvotes and top comments have over 25k upvotes. Thousands of comments including the search terms, “Robinhood” and “GameStop” expressed concern about economic inequality and the power associated with it. “Market manipulation” was a commonly used term to describe the situation, and Reddit users were the most proactive audience discussing about what the general public can do to avoid this manipulation.

Full Analysis:

Purpose:

Analyze social media users’ thoughts and sentiments when r/WallStreetBets independent users caused an increase in the GameStop (GME) stock price and Robinhood restricted GME trading on their platform.

Analysis Time Frame:

January 26-30, 2021

Overall Trends:

• January 28, 2021 had the highest conversation volume across all platforms, with 6.71 million total mentions and over 3 million Twitter users contributing to the conversation.
  • The night before, GME shares increased to an all-time high closing price of $350.
  • On this day, Robinhood also announced their restrictions for buying GameStop, AMC, BlackBerry, Nokia, and others.
• The top posts on every platform were against Robinhood’s restrictions.
• After Robinhood restricted GME trading, politicians on both sides called the action “unacceptable” and sided with independent investors.
• Social media users used the phrase and hashtag #tothemoon to describe the price trend for GME and similar stocks (e.g., Nokia, Blackberry, AMC, American Airlines, etc.).
• In general, conversation suggests that underlying, decades-long economic inequality is the real problem.

Sentiment:

48.9% positive

51.1% negative

All sentiments generally reflected support for the independent investors.

Keyword Groups:

“Reddit” and “GameStop”

“Reddit” and “GME”

“Reddit” and “Robinhood”

“Robinhood” and “GameStop”

“Robinhood” and “GME”

“Robinhood,” “GameStop,” and “GME”

Popular Words:

“Robinhood” and “GameStop” were the most commonly used words in online conversations, but there was also a lot of discussion about Elon Musk and dogecoin.