Multi-Directional and multi-stage dissemination of ecuadorian media's news through twitter during the 30-S

Abstract

The development of information and communication technologies (ICT), together with the massive access of people to Internet and online social networks, are changing the communication structure of society. This new social and digital context is changing the way citizens access information. In this paper, we analyze the flow of information emitted by mass media in virtual environments. Specifically, we analyzed the information flow of the two tweets with the highest re-transmission, emitted by two well-known Ecuadorian newspapers (one public and one private), with a large circulation and national coverage, during the events of police insubordination of September 30, 2010. Our results show that the information dissemination network established by these two tweets follows a ”swarming” model. That is, multi-directional and multi-stage.