Content hubs, information flows, and reactions for pesticide-related discussions on Twitter/X.

Abstract

Pesticides are essential in modern agriculture for controlling pests and enhancing food production. However, concerns about their human and environmental health impacts have broadened discussions on their use, regulation, ethics, and sustainability. Scientific research, media coverage, and input from corporations, governments, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) shape public opinions and potentially influence regulatory decisions. This project analyzed pesticide-related discussions on Twitter/X from 2013 to 2022, focusing on information influence and propagation among individuals and organizations, advancing over prior research that looked at topic frequency, trends, and geography. Using a validated snowball sampling method, we collected over 3 million tweets from 1 million users and identified key network influencers, i.e., information hubs, analyzing their content, popularity, and characteristics. Machine learning and a tailored information flow score were used to explore the dynamics of information flow and sentiment across hubs. Our analysis revealed that organizational hubs, particularly NGOs and media, were more active and had higher follower-to-following ratios than individual influencers. Media and NGOs also dominated the pesticide-related discourse, while individual influencers had a lesser role. Information sources were unevenly distributed, with a dominance of retweets, news, and media posts, and a low prevalence of scientific sources. Information flow was high through NGOs, academia, and individuals, but poor from government accounts. Pesticide-focused hubs were more active and targeted in their information dissemination, with public sentiment largely negative. By delving deeper into the dynamics of information dissemination and influence networks, this study provides insights that emphasize (1) the need for better communication strategies to integrate diverse stakeholder perceptions and values, and (2) prioritizing the dissemination of credible scientific information, while also addressing sectoral disparities. Together, they can help policymakers and industry stakeholders build trust, promote transparency, and advance sustainable pesticide regulation.