Table 3.
Prominent features of discussion, authors and the prevailing themes.
| Category | Pre-Announcement-1 | Post-Announcement-1 | Announcement-2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meltwater Analysis 1 | |||
| Top Key Words | bovine tb, training, summer | bovine tb, cull, vaccines, decision, disease, controversial | disease, bovine tb, tb vaccine trails, cattle vaccine, diva test |
| Top Hashtags | #badgermonday #wildlife #stopthecull | #badgercull #wildlife #stopthecullnow #sensless | #badgercull #science #btb #stopthecull #cattlevets |
| Top Twitter Authors | Individuals from the public e.g. CEO of The Badger Trust | Sky News (Sky UK Ltd., Isleworth, Middlesex, UK), The Daily Mail UK (Daily Mail and General Trust, London, UK), RSPCA official (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Southwater, West Sussex, UK), BBC Bristol, Gloucester, Midlands, Cumbria, and BBC Country File (British Broadcasting Corporation, London, UK), Farmers Weekly (Farmer Weekly, Sutton, Surrey, UK), Farmers Guardian (Farmers Guardian Ltd., Preston, Lancashire, UK) | The Guardian (Guardian Media Group, London, UK), RSPCA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Southwater, West Sussex, UK), Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, London, UK), ITV West Country (ITV plc., London, UK), Farmers Guardian (Farmers Guardian Ltd., Preston, Lancashire, UK), Vet Times UK (Veterinary Business Development Ltd, Peterborough, UK), APHA (Animal and Plant Health Agency, Addlestone, Surrey, UK) |
| InfraNodus Analysis 2 | |||
| Most Influential Elements | badger, @wildlifetrusts (The Wildlife Trusts, Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire, UK), wildlife | badger, cull, vaccine, @wildlifetrusts, cattle | trial, bovine, cattle, vaccine, @defragovuk ((Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, London, UK), @rspca_official (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Southwater, West Sussex, UK), @aphagovuk (Animal and Plant Health Agency, Addlestone, Surrey, UK) |
1 Meltwater analysis shows the change in the top key words, hashtags, and Twitter authors across Announcements-1 and 2. 2 InfraNodus was used to ascertain the change of the most influential elements within each category across the two announcements. Most influential elements refers to the words that most commonly link conversations, topics, and authors within the digital and social media posts over the announcement timeframes.