What’s Trending? (Part 2): For some, old scores need settling

by UMICH Center for Social Media Responsibility | Mar 25, 2021 | Digital Journalism

At the University of Michigan Center for Social Media Responsibility (CSMR), we publish and monitor a metric we call the Iffy Quotient—the fraction of the most popular URLs on Facebook and Twitter that come from “Iffy” sites that often publish...

What’s Trending? (Part 1): Race and COVID-19 have been among the hottest topics on social media, but it also depends on who’s talking about it

by UMICH Center for Social Media Responsibility | Nov 16, 2020 | Digital Journalism

At the University of Michigan Center for Social Media Responsibility (CSMR), we publish and monitor a metric we call the Iffy Quotient—the fraction of the most popular URLs on Facebook and Twitter that come from “Iffy” sites that often publish...

COVID-19 Brought a Temporary Flight to Quality in the Public’s Attention Allocation

by UMICH Center for Social Media Responsibility | Jul 21, 2020 | Digital Journalism

When financial markets are volatile, there is often a “flight to quality” in investment allocations. People move their money into gold or other investments that they perceive to be less risky. During the early days of the COVID-19 lockdown in the U.S., there was...