“Social media data, especially from Twitter, has long been an invaluable tool in the wake of natural disasters. But this time, according to four data scientists and researchers involved in the rescue effort, the work has been hampered by recent changes to Twitter’s API, the programming interface that enables third parties to access and analyze public data on the platform. Since Elon Musk acquired Twitter in October and restructured the company, laying off almost 80% of its staff, data streaming has slowed down and problems with the mechanisms that allow programmers, academics, journalists and NGOs to collect public data have intensified, they say. Twitter’s portals that connected developers to the company’s engineering teams have also gone inactive, severing another important link.”
Full story on time.com: Vera Bergengruen, “Twitter’s Internal Chaos Is Slowing Turkey Earthquake Relief Efforts, Volunteers Say”, February 11, 2023 7:00 AM EST
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