Music-streaming giant Spotify made plenty of positive headlines in December for their annual “Spotify Wrapped” promotion, but they’ve found themselves back in the spotlight this month for more controversial reasons.
Recently, Neil Young led the charge of artists who pulled their musical catalogues from the platform after Spotify allowed provocative podcaster Joe Rogan to keep up episodes of his show that contained misinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccine. Young, Joni Mitchell, and other musical icons offered Spotify an ultimatum – their music or Rogan’s show. Rogan’s show is the most listened-to podcast on the platform, and – whether or not that played into their decision – remains available on Spotify.
Spotify took a major hit both in the market and in public opinion following the decision. According to Reuters, investors have now begun to build Spotify’s stock price back up, but the social media world is less immediately forgiving. Many of the top hashtags demonstrate this negative feeling, with thousands of mentions of #deletespotify, #spotifydeleted, and #boycottspotify.
Using the parameters of Jan. 23, 2022, through Jan. 31, 2022, with the term “Spotify” combined with Neil Young or Joe Rogan’s names, or both, we harvested more than 620.2K mentions across platforms in the United States. An overwhelming 87.3% of those mentions registered negative sentiment – unsurprising, given that Spotify would alienate a significant portion of its users as well as talent no matter their choice. Despite the high volume of anti-Spotify hashtags, trends such as #thanksjoerogan and #thanksspotify also contribute more than 5.6K mentions apiece and demonstrate public sentiment toward both positions.
The news began to gain traction on Jan. 24, reaching a fever pitch on Jan. 29 with more than 135.1K mentions in that single day! Top terms of discussion as well as a deeper analysis of content indicate social users were concerned about the implications of banning content. The term “censorship” appeared frequently by those who were pleased with Spotify’s decision, while “misinformation” and “anti-vaxxer” appeared frequently in the other camp.
This entire incident highlights the pitfalls companies must plan for and try to avoid in the modern world with social media, where reputation is just as important as who’s streaming on your platform or what wider repercussions your decisions may have. While Rogan responded (if not quite apologized) and Spotify declared they would offer “content warnings,” ethical implications abound on all sides as social media users continue to debate. Meanwhile, Spotify itself has offered no statements or even mentions of the decision on its own social media pages.
This month, Edelman released their 22nd annual Trust Barometer, which is the compiled data of a worldwide distributed trust and credibility survey. The Trust Barometer encompasses over 36,000 respondents from 28 countries. It was conducted between November 1 and November 24, 2021. With the growing political tensions and partisan media outlets, the results have depicted a grim state of distrust for many of the institutions that impact our lives.
Since its debut on January 18, search terms “Edelman” and “Trust Barometer” have generated 4,270 mentions and reached 54.42 million users. Twitter dominates this conversation topic with over 3,091 mentions. The posts are almost split evenly between sentiments, with 47.48% being positive and 52.52% being negative.
Today, we launched the 2022 #TrustBarometer, which finds a world ensnared by a vicious cycle of distrust, fueled by diminishing faith in government and media. The expectations of business to lead have never been higher. Learn more: https://t.co/oMrPq1gsnX
Much of these conversations are centered around the report’s findings of trust. The survey focused on four main areas of influence: Government, Media, Businesses, and NGOs. Here are some of the highlights of the report:
Globally
Globally, you may be surprised to learn who were the winners and losers in the country Trust Index. The Trust Index is the average percent trust in all four categories within each country. As the report’s headline states, democratic countries saw the biggest drop in trust. The top losers in the Trust Index were Germany, Australia, The Netherlands, South Korea, and the United States. Those who saw the biggest gain in trust were China, United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Thailand. Factors that may have impacted this trust increase could be Thailand and China’s response to COVID-19 and the economic gains that UAE has seen in the past years.
A global survey "Edelman Trust Barometer"has found that public trust in western governments such as the #US has fallen to new lows amid widespread economic pessimism amid the pandemic. At the same time, surveys show a clear upward trend in #Chinese people's trust in government. pic.twitter.com/dQRgFhflqW
Government and Media were found to be the source of the most distrust amongst participants, with 48% of participants agreeing that they find their governments to be a dividing source of society and 46% agreeing that the Media is a dividing source of society. 76% of global participants agreed that they were worried that false information in Media was being used as a weapon. The most significant increase in this distrust came from Indonesia, with a 9-point increase from the previous year’s survey.
Businesses and NGOs
Perhaps one of the most significant findings is the shifted expectation of what entities are viewed as taking on a leadership role and achieving results. Notably, the Government category came in last for both of these measures, while Businesses category was ranked at the top.
Overall, the report demonstrates an increasing number of people who are expecting Businesses and NGOs to become involved in a more influential way. Respondents stated that they would like to see businesses addressing more of all the listed six categories: Climate Change, Economic Inequality, Workforce Reskilling, Access to Healthcare, Trustworthy Information, and Systemic Justice. Additionally, NGOs saw an increase of trust in 16 out of 27 countries, while Government fell comparatively in 17 out of 27 countries.
Public trust in Chinese government surges to 91%, while new lows in democratic countries, says Edelman Trust Barometer. pic.twitter.com/6BD7Ie6TEk
One of the biggest takeaways from this report is the emerging pressure that populations are placing on businesses to take the leading role in solving social problems. With 58% of respondents stating that they buy or advocate for brands based on their beliefs and values, it is clear that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives will continue to be a driving force of interest in the upcoming years. Furthermore, Government and Media entities will need to strive for long-term consistency in conveying fact-based information to their publics. Without this, we can expect to see a continued decline in trust amongst the institutions that we once relied on the most.
This weekend, eight teams were reduced to four as the National Football League’s (NFL) Divisional Round broke hearts and spiked pulses around the nation. Three games were decided by last-minute field goals while the final was sent to overtime by a high-stakes FG as well. Not surprisingly, fans, players, and media members took to social media over the intense few days of football and made their voices heard.
In a search window beginning Friday, January 21 – the day before the games began – and ending Monday, January 24 – the day after the games ended – a whopping 728,639 mentions of the NFL were made on social media across the United States. NFL-related content reached more than 5.4 billion users across the country.
With so much content to evaluate, let’s break down the weekend game-by-game.
Cincinnati Bengals vs. Tennessee Titans (Bengals won 19-16)
Photo courtesy AP
The underdog Bengals came into this game on the heels of their first playoff victory in 31 years, and Cincinnati was out in force – Skyline chili dogs and goetta alongside. 323,785 social media posts were published mentioning the Bengals, with nearly 60% of those mentions coded as positive; a far cry from the past few decades of Cincinnati professional football.
The #bengals hashtag featured 25,453 mentions while #rulethejungle reached 9,560 and #whodey followed closely with 9,167mentions. Top terms among the positive mentions were “joe” and “burrow,” referring to the young Bengals QB, while the negative mentions frequently referenced “o-line” and “sacked,” referring to the poor offensive play that allowed Burrow to be sacked a staggering nine times in one game.
Meanwhile, 200,543 mentions on social media referred to the Titans, with more than 56% of those marking negative sentiment. The Titans were the top-seeded team in the AFC and earned a bye during the wildcard round, leading many to assume the well-rested Tennessee team would walk all over Cincinnati.
The #titans hashtag recorded 30,669 mentions while #titanup dropped off to 6,648 mentions. However, #titanup was significantly more positive in its content than simply #titans, indicating that the fans who used the slogan were more engaged and optimistic than the widespread coverage surrounding with just the #titans hashtag, often used by content creators such as journalists. Top terms of discussion included star player Derrick Henry; however, much conversation veered to the Super Bowl LVI halftime show and its “star-studded” roster – indicating those tweeting about the Titans were less engaged overall than Bengals fans.
San Francisco 49ers vs. Green Bay Packers (49ers won 13-10)
Photo courtesy USA Today Sports
This punchy matchup defied expectations, with two offensively-powerful teams being reduced largely to field goals. During the time window, 416,009 mentions were made of either “49ers” or “Niners” – and they were more evenly spread out over the window rather than simply surging during the game, indicating fans are continuing to discuss the topic following the upset victory. Like for other teams, many of the top mentions contained references to star players; however, so much conversation surrounded Nick Bosa that he ranked among a top theme of discussion.
Meanwhile, the Packers raked in 356,593 mentions – an overwhelming two-thirds of which were negative. Many, of course, focused more on quarterback Aaron Rodgers than the game itself, as Rodgers has had an intensely controversial season following his declaration that he was “immunized” against COVID-19 while not actually being vaccinated. Rodgers himself was mentioned 386,483 times over these four days, with the hashtag #byeaaron earning 6,825 mentions.
Interestingly, “Kaepernick” was listed as a top term of discussion along with Rodgers, comparing how Colin Kaepernick had been blacklisted and his career essentially ended for speaking out against racial injustice while Rodgers continued his play as normal while spreading misinformation during the pandemic.
Los Angeles Rams vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Rams won 30-27)
Photo courtesy USA Today Sports
Sunday’s first game followed Saturday’s formula to a T – everything came down to the last play, and the victory was sealed with a field goal. As with the Packers, much of the conversation surrounding this matchup hinged on star individuals – Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski – and the direction their careers may take following an early playoff loss. 180,622 mentions referred to the “Buccaneers” or “Bucs,” while 343,312 discussed Brady and 9,908 discussed Gronkowski (or “Gronk”). Fan and media focus was firmly concentrated around the player many consider the G.O.A.T. of American football.
The Rams, while competing traffic-wise with 300,033 mentions, couldn’t compete with the ongoing narrative of Brady’s potential retirement. A surge during the game quickly tapered off again, and one of the top discussion themes even in Rams content was “Brady!” Los Angeles won the game battle but lost the news war, unable to pull headlines away from what could be a looming, sport-altering decision.
Year 11 in the books 📚 What a ride it’s been. Grateful to the Bucs for giving me an opportunity to play another year. To my teammates, thank you for giving everything you had. The sweat we shed & memories made will never be forgotten. Thanks to the #Krewe too 🏴☠️
Kansas City Chiefs vs. Buffalo Bills (Chiefs won 42-36 in OT)
Photo courtesy ESPN
The final game of the Divisional Round was the first and only to buck the trend of last-minute field goals sealing the deal, but it hesitated to go too far off-piste. Though the Bills went ahead with a touchdown with just 13 seconds left, the Chiefs were able to tie the game as regulation ended – and then won the game in overtime! This matchup was the most-watched Divisional Round game since 2017, peaking at 51.7 million viewers, and for good reason.
However, the high-stakes drama was overshadowed by discussion of the NFL’s controversial overtime rules. Rather than allowing both teams an opportunity to score, the rules state that the first touchdown wins the game. Decided by nothing more than a coin flip, this luck-of-the-draw rule all but eliminates any home-field advantage or equal opportunity chance – something frustrating in the regular-season, to be sure, but potentially career-devastating in the playoffs.
Many of the most-used words in Bills-related mentions surround overtime and the spate of emotions Buffalo fans felt: “angry,” “pissed,” “frustrated,” and the words “coin” and “rule” popped up frequently as well. The only similar words appearing in Chiefs mentions are “overtime” and “rules,” indicating the victors are perfectly happy to let sleeping dogs lie for now, as it worked in their favor.
Four intense games later, it’s clear that fans had lots to say not only about their own teams and players but about league legends, game rules, and implications beyond the gridiron. With just the AFC and NFC championship games remaining before the Super Bowl, it’s unlikely social traffic will die down any time soon.
A new treatment for severe cases of Covid-19 is under the process of seeking federal approval in the United Kingdom. Antivirals are medicines which are swallowed as a capsule to help treat people with Covid-19 infections to reduce the risk of hospitalizations and death.
The UK is currently searching for 6,000 adults over the age of 50 who have tested positive for Covid-19 within the last five days to participate in a new clinical trial. Although the pill has not yet been approved by UK or United States regulators its trials have provided promising results thus far. Molnupiravir, the Covid-19 antiviral involved, has already shown to reduce the risk for non-hospitalized adults with mild to moderate Covid-19 by 30% in previous testing.
On December 23rd, 2021, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized the use of Molnupiravir in certain emergency situations. Patrizia Cavazzoni, M.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research said, “Molnupiravir is limited to situations where other FDA-authorized treatments for COVID-19 are inaccessible or are not clinically appropriate and will be a useful treatment option for some patients with COVID-19 at high risk of hospitalization or death.”
The deputy chief medical officer for England said this study could help determine the best course of action for using antiviral medications in the treatment of Covid-19. The UK health secretary Sajid Javid is urging eligible populations to participate as this study could “help us learn more about medicines which would save thousands of lives”.
Volunteers in the study are provided with pills to take home. There are currently 4,500 participants undergoing the proposed treatment, but 6,000 participants are required to satisfy the trial. Javid explains that the best outcome in the proposed approval of the Molnupiravir antiviral pill will directly impact the lives of the most vulnerable populations by preventing hospitalizations and deaths.
While many are experiencing Covid burnout- or are perhaps focusing less on the ongoing conversation surrounding the pandemic, Molnupiravir has re-sparked interest among almost 30k individuals worldwide. According to Sprinklr, our social media data analytics tool, Molnupiravir pills have been mentioned 29.53K times across social media and have reached a whopping 464.49 million feeds largely through news channels and on Twitter.
However, the overall sentiment of each mention reveals that there may not be as many citizen-led responses as anticipated. In fact, 21.49K of the mentions across all social media platforms indicated a neutral sentiment. This is likely due to the nature of news sources remaining unbiased in their reporting.
Of the remainder, there were 5.32K negative mentions and only 2K positive mentions regarding the newest Covid-19 pill undergoing testing protocols. This indicates that amongst the total number of individuals sharing their thoughts on the matter, there is notable aversion in more than 70% of responses towards this proposed treatment.
Overall sentiment of “Molnupiravir”- related mentions across all social channels
Perhaps it is our inability to predict the potential length of the ongoing pandemic that leads to increased negative mentions or overall distrust towards the treatment. Regardless, it is likely that the prominence of Covid-19, and its treatment options will remain of high importance on social media as we navigate the future course of the pandemic. Covid-19 pills like Molnupiravir will likely become more prominent the media and accessible as treatment for the virus in the coming months.
It can only be our hope that the study of Molnupiravir will be conducted to its full scale and provide results that will better our chances of surviving the pandemic while keeping our most vulnerable populations safe.
A new treatment for severe cases of Covid-19 is under the process of seeking federal approval in the United Kingdom. Antivirals are medicines which are swallowed as a capsule to help treat people with Covid-19 infections to reduce the risk of hospitalizations and death.
