Tag Archives: Nairobi

Forensics Analysis of #Westgate Tweets (Updated)

Posted on October 3, 2013 | 16 comments

Update 1: Our original Twitter collection of Westgate-related tweets included the following hashtags: #Kenya, #Nairobi #WestgateAttack, #WestagateMall, #WestgatemallAttack, #Westgateshootout & #Westgate. While we overlooked #Westlands and Westlands, we have just fixed the oversight. This explains why the original results below differed from the iHub’s analysis which was based on tweets with the keywords Westgate and Westlands.

Update 2: The list below of first tweets to report the attack has been updated to include tweets referring to Westlands. These are denoted by an asterisk (*). 

I’m carrying out some preliminary “information forensics” research on the 740,000+ tweets posted during the Westgate attack. More specifically, I’m looking for any clues in the hours leading up to the attack that may reveal something out of the ordinary prior to the siege. Other questions I’m hoping to answer: Were any tweets posted during the crisis actionable? Did they add situational awareness? What kind of multimedia content was shared? Which tweets were posted by eyewitnesses? Were any tweets posted by the attackers or their supporters? If so, did these carry tactical information?

Screen Shot 2013-10-03 at 4.20.23 AM

If you have additional suggestions on what else to search for, please feel free to post them in the comments section below, thank you very much. I’ll be working with QCRI research assistants over the next few weeks to dive deeper into the first 24 hours of the attack as reported on Twitter. This research would not be possible where it not for my colleagues at GNIP who very kindly granted me access their platform to download all the tweets. I’ve just reviewed the first hour of tweets (which proved to be highly emotional, as expected). Below are the very first tweets posted about the attack.

[12:38:20 local time]*
gun shots in westlands? wtf??

[12:41:49]*
Weird gunshot like sounds in westlands : (

[12:42:35]
Explosions and gunfight ongoing in #nairobi 

[12:42:38]
Something really bad goin on at #Westgate. Gunshots!!!! Everyone’s fled. 

[12:43:17] *
Somewhere behind Westlands? What’s up RT @[username]: Explosions and gunfight ongoing in #nairobi

[12:44:03]
Are these gunshots at #Westgate? Just heard shooting from the road behind sarit, sounded like it was coming from westgate 

[12:44:37]*
@[username] shoot out at westgate westlands mall. going on for the last 10 min

[12:44:38]
Heavily armed thugs have taken over #WestGate shopping mall. Al occupants and shoppers are on the floor. Few gunshots heard…more to follow 

[12:44:51]*
did anyone else in westlands hear that? #KOT #Nairobi 

[12:45:04]
Seems like explosions and small arms fire are coming from Westlands or Gigiri #nairobi 

[12:46:12]
Gun fight #westgate… @ntvkenya @KTNKenya @citizentvkenya any news… 

[12:46:44]*
Several explosions followed by 10 minutes of running gunfight in Nairobi westlands

[12:46:59]
Small arms fire is continuing to be exchanged intermittently. #nairobi

[12:46:59]
Something’s going on around #Westgate #UkayCentre area. Keep away if you can

[12:47:54]
Gunshots and explosions heard around #Westgate anybody nearby? #Westlands

[12:48:33]*
@KenyaRedCross explosions and gunshots heard near Westgate Mall in Westlands. Fierce shoot out..casualties probable

[12:48:36]
Shoot to kill order #westgate

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See also:

  • We Are Kenya: Global Map of #Westgate Tweets [Link]
  • Did Terrorists Use Twitter to Increase Situational Awareness? [Link]
  • Analyzing Tweets Posted During Mumbai Terrorist Attacks [Link]
  • Web 2.0 Tracks Attacks on Mumbai [Link]

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16 Comments

Posted in Crowdsourcing, Information Forensics, Social Media

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We Are Kenya: Global Map of #Westgate Tweets

Posted on October 3, 2013 | 5 comments

I spent over an hour trying to write this first paragraph last week and still don’t know where to start. I grew up in Nairobi, my parents lived in Kenya for more than 15 years, their house was 5 minutes from Westgate, my brother’s partner is Kenyan and I previously worked for Ushahidi, a Kenyan not-for-profit group. Witnessing the tragedy online as it unfolded in real-time, graphic pictures and all, was traumatic;  I did not know the fate of several friends right away. This raw anxiety brought back memories from the devastating Haiti Earthquake of 2010; it took 12 long hours until I got word that my wife and friends had just made it out of a crumbling building.

WeAreKenya

What to do with this most recent experience and the pain that lingers? Amongst the graphic Westgate horror unfolding via Twitter, I also witnessed the outpouring of love, support and care; the offers of help from Kenyans and Somalis alike; collective grieving, disbelief and deep sadness; the will to remain strong, to overcome, to be united in support of the victims, their families and friends. So I reached out to several friends in Nairobi to ask them if aggregating and surfacing these tweets publicly could serve as a positive testament. They all said yes.

I therefore contacted colleagues at GNIP who kindly let me use their platform to collect more than 740,000 tweets related to the tragedy, starting from several hours before the horror began until the end of the siege. I then reached out to friends Claudia Perlich (data scientist) and Jer Throp (data artist) for their help on this personal project. They both kindly agreed to lend their expertise. Claudia quickly put together the map above based on the location of Twitter users responding to the events in Nairobi (click map to enlarge). The graph below depicts where Twitter users covering the Westgate tragedy were tweeting from during the first 35 hours or so.

Westgate Continents

Westgate Table Continents

We also did some preliminary content analysis of some keywords. The graph below displays the frequency of the terms “We Are One,” “Blood Appeal / Blood Donations,” and “Pray / Prayers” during the four day siege (click to enlarge).

Kenya We Are One

Jer suggested (thankfully) a more compelling and elegant data visualization approach, which we are exploring this week. So we hope to share some initial visuals in the coming days. If you have any specific suggestions on other ways to analyze and visualize the data, please do share them in the comments section below, thank you. 

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See also: Forensics Analysis of #Westgate Tweets [Link]

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Posted in Crowdsourcing, Social Media

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