Analyzing the discussion of gregorio murder on twitter using text mining approach

• Main Author: Siena, Merimee T
• Format: text
• Published: Archīum Ateneo 2022
• Subjects: Text mining; Twitter; Social media; Philippines; Communication Technology and New Media; Computer Engineering; Engineering; Social and Behavioral Sciences; Social Justice; Social Media
• Online Access: https://archium.ateneo.edu/psychology-faculty-pubs/389; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chbr.2022.100248
• Institution: Ateneo De Manila University

Being dubbed as the “social media capital of the world”, the impact of social media among Filipinos went beyond information dissemination. Filipinos also used social media to call out authorities and revolutionize political systems. Using text mining approach, this study explored the common themes surrounding the social media users' discussions regarding the recent killing of Sonya and Frank Gregorio which sparked conversation on Twitter in the Philippines. Using keywords from the trending hashtags #StopKillingsPH and #JusticeforSonyaGregorio, tweets were extracted via Python program. A total of 1045 tweets from December 21 to December 28, 2020 were collected and analyzed in terms of frequency, sentiment, subjectivity, and surrounding themes. Results show that discussions regarding the Gregorio murder revolved on the netizen's call for justice, demand that the suspect be charged with murder, and an online petition and a louder plea to stop killings and end police brutality in the country. Results of this study are discussed in evidence on how social media can be influential in mobilizing the authorities to act against injustices in the Philippines and in affecting change in the society.