Evaluation of Social Media Sources

The following sources that will be discussed were found on Storify.

Will Dana, Twitter (December 5th, 2014)

When the original Rolling Stone article on the UVA rape case was under investigation, and the credibility of the article became foggy, Rolling Stone began to make public apologies for posting an article with unproven information. Tweets from Will Dana, the managing editor at Rolling Stone Magazine, apologize to the public for the failure in judgment when posting the original version of Jackie’s story, the UVA gang rape case.

1. Can you corroborate who the person who posted the social media message is. Can you Google them? Do they belong to an organization or institution that bestows credibility on them (for example, a university, governmental organization, non-profit, company, etc.)?

The author of the tweets is Will Dana, Rolling Stone’s managing editor, apologizing on behalf of the discrepancies within the original UVA rape article that was published in November, 2014. Will Dana is definitely a credible source considering he was in charge of over-seeing whether or not the controversial article was ready to be published.

2. Are they in the place they are tweeting or posting about? Are they directly involved with any of the events relevant to your controversy?

Yes, he was directly involved with the controversy because he is the managing editor of Rolling Stone and it is his, as well as other colleagues, responsibility to oversee which articles are ready to be published.

3. Who is in their network and who follows them? Do other individuals with institutional credibility associate with this person on social media?

Yes, some of his colleagues are featured on his twitter. However, most of his followers are simply fans.

4. Can the information they’re relying on in their tweet or post be corroborated from other sources?

Yes, however, like I said before, Will Dana was working first-hand in the controversy. In fact, he was partially responsible.

5. Do they usually post or tweet on this topic? If so, what did past or updated posts say? Do they fill in more details?

He would usually just tweet or retweet about articles newly published to Rolling Stone, however, during this period in time, he was making a public apology due to the effect the article had on the public and on Rolling Stone’s credibility.

6. What is the age of the account in question? Be wary of recently created accounts.

Will Dana joined twitter in May, 2008 and he still uses it daily.

7. Is the source of information reliable?

Yes, like I said, he was partially responsible for the controversy itself.

Howard Kurtz, Twitter (April 5th, 2015)

Howard Kurtz, a Fox News host and commenter, tweeted that Sabrina Erdley, the author of the original UVA rape article, will continue to write for Rolling Stone. Sabrina has issued several public apologies as well as the rest of the Rolling Stone community. 

1. Can you corroborate who the person who posted the social media message is. Can you Google them? Do they belong to an organization or institution that bestows credibility on them (for example, a university, governmental organization, non-profit, company, etc.)?

The Fox News host and commenter, Howard Kurtz, is a credible source for information. His tweet was a report to the public to inform them that Erdley will in fact be continuing to write for Rolling Stone. 

2. Are they in the place they are tweeting or posting about? Are they directly involved with any of the events relevant to your controversy?

No, however, working for a news channel he receives news first hand and then transfers that news to the public. 

3. Who is in their network and who follows them? Do other individuals with institutional credibility associate with this person on social media?

Kurtz's followers are people seeking information. Yes, but mostly indirectly. Kurtz retweets and tweets about news events and controversies, giving him some direct relation to the controversies. 

4. Can the information they’re relying on in their tweet or post be corroborated from other sources?

Yes, the information can be found in several articles and in video news reports. 

5. Do they usually post or tweet on this topic? If so, what did past or updated posts say? Do they fill in more details?

Kurtz's posts aren't restricted to this one controversy. Being a news reporter, Kurtz is exposed to controversies everyday which he tweets and reports about on social media and Fox News. 

6. What is the age of the account in question? Be wary of recently created accounts.

No, Kurtz joined twitter in August of 2008 and his account is verified. 

7. Is the source of information reliable?

Yes, Kurtz tweets reports on current controversies and events. All of the events that he reports are assigned to him by Fox News.