The
39th Annual G8 Summit was held on June 17-18, 2013 at the Lough Erne
Golf Resort in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland.
Traditionally, the G8 Summit attracts protests and civil disobedience. As it
was in Northern Ireland this year, we expected increased activity leading up to
the Summit. In order to test our event monitoring analytics, we decided to monitor
social media chatter about the G8 Summit beginning three weeks before the event
and lasting throughout the end of the Summit to detect any acts of civil
disobedience that may occur. For the purpose of simplicity, we will focus on a
group of events that occurred on June 11, 2013.
Identifying Protest Organizers
and Locations
One of the first sources of information we identified was an
anti-G8 group calling themselves StopG8. Their website was a rich source of
information about protests scheduled for the week leading up to the Summit. StopG8
listed key events and maintained a complete calendar of activities. One of the most important
items found on the website was a map of
protests aimed at the West End of London on June 11, 2013, complete with a
manifesto against financial greed and corruption.
This event was commonly referred to as the Carnival Against Capitalism and was tagged as #J11 on social media. The map
of these demonstrations became one of the most widespread images leading up to
the G8 Summit. Using this information about #J11 and associated activities, we
were able to identify individuals who were attending these protests.
Identifying and
Monitoring Participants
Once
we identified the organizing force behind the protests and the language
associated with these events, we were able to construct a network of
individuals interacting with one another on social media. Network mapping allowed
us to begin tracking participants and monitoring their activities throughout
the duration of the protests. Using social media posts from protesters and
journalists, we were able to harvest raw data from the ground. A good source of
raw footage and commentary throughout #J11 was journalist Jules Mattsson.
The
raw source data from Mr. Mattsson provided real-time footage of the activity
occurring at #J11. Using this data, we were able to see events as they unfolded
and track the movements of participants as they moved throughout London. Our
analysts were then equipped with emerging intelligence to analyze the changing
landscape of #J11.
Identifying Changing Circumstances
Earlier
in our research, we identified information about the Convergence Centre where
people could stay during the protests. This
location was meant to be a safe house for individuals participating in the
events leading up to the G8 Summit. However, it was raided on #J11.
After
the raid,
individuals needed to find new locations to stay at for the night. StopG8
provided new contact information for protesters to use to find new lodging
accommodations.
Analysis
of emerging social media data allowed our analysts to stay current on the
rapidly unfolding circumstances surrounding #J11. After vetting information for
authenticity, our team was equipped with the information necessary to provide
real-time intelligence.
Conclusion
Although
there was a mountain of big data to scale regarding activities related to the
G8 Summit, it was readily available for analysis. Organizers and protesters routinely
harness the power of social media to communicate with one another and expand
their networks and sphere of influence. Social media has the power to identify pieces
of raw data which identify locations, individuals, networks, and activities important
to emerging events. It is up to us as analysts to identify these rich data
sources and use them as part of our investigative and intelligence solutions.
