Open Measures

Open Measures helps open source researchers investigate harmful online activity such as extremism and disinformation.

URL

https://public.openmeasures.io

Description

Open Measures helps open source researchers investigate harmful online activity such as extremism and disinformation. It allows researchers to run bulk queries against online forums and social media such as Telegram and 4chan.

Public (free) features:

• Search queries: the Public App allows users to search archives for specific search terms with basic, Boolean, or advanced queries.

• Analysis tools: Timeline, Activity, Link Counter, and Search

• Datasets: the following datasets are available, 4chan, 8kun, BitChute, Bluesky, Fediverse, Gab, Gettr, LBRY / Odysee, MeWe, Minds, OK, Parler, Poal, Rumble, RuTube, Scored, Telegram, TikTok, Truth Social, VK, and Wimkin. (See Open Measures Datasets for the current list and operational status of each dataset.)

• Language support: English and Spanish.

• Limited API access: 39 requests per day, and data that is at least six months old.

• API Elasticsearch Support: Sophisticated filtering query support included (Additional information on Elastic full text queries here.)

Pro Features:

• Everything in Public, plus unlimited access to all Analysis tools such as Discover, Timeline, Link Counter, and Activity.

• API access: Unlimited.

• Support: Full customer support.

Enterprise Features:

• Everything in Pro.

• Detailed Analysis: A dedicated research dashboard.

• Visualisation: Network graphing capabilities.

• Multi-media imagery analysis: Images and video media application. Multi media.

• Custom social media crawl requests: Access to custom crawl requests of keywords, profiles, and channels.

Open Measures provides a Command Line Interface (CLI) for quickly accessing bulk data and a Jupyter Notebook for accessing the API.

Example of a timeline search result for the term QAnon:

Search result for the term QAnon

Cost

• Free

• Partially Free

• Paid

See https://openmeasures.io/solutions/

Open Measures says the Pro and Enterprise solutions are paid for all users, but they encourage all academics, journalists, and individual researchers to get in touch at [e-mail] to ensure budget doesn’t stand in the way of access.

Level of difficulty

Requirements

• API: No registration required for the pubic (free) API.

Limitations

• Public App and API: Search results are date-limited to 6 month old data, and rate-limited to 39 requests per day.

• Registration: The Pro version requires registration.

Ethical Considerations

When using Open Measures for research purposes, it's imperative to consider the following ethical aspects:

• Privacy and Consent: Although Open Measures archives public posts, researchers should be mindful of the privacy expectations of individuals who made those posts. Not all users understand or anticipate their contributions being analysed or quoted in research.

• Bias and Representativeness: Acknowledge that the data collected from Open Measures may not be representative of broader populations or viewpoints. Research findings should be contextualised within the scope and limitations of the data source.

• The Oxygen of Amplification: Think carefully about what you publish so as not to unwittingly amplify some of the messaging present on fringe platforms. (See The Oxygen of Amplification: Better Practices for Reporting on Extremists, Antagonists, and Manipulators Online by Whitney Phillips).

Considering these ethical guidelines will help maintain the integrity of your research and protect the rights and dignity of individuals whose posts might be included in your study.

Guides and articles

To effectively use Open Measures, especially for beginners or those looking to refine their skills, the following resources are highly recommended:

Official Wiki

• https://docs.openmeasures.io/docs
• https://blog.openmeasures.io/

Tutorials and Articles

• A New Open-Source Tool for Tracking Disinformation by Mozilla
• The Social Media Analysis Toolkit (SMAT) by Countering Disinformation
• Far-Right Platform Gab Has Been Hacked—Including Private Data by Andy Greenberg for Wired
• How the far-right harnessed tech in the lead-up to the Capitol riot by Samara Lynn for ABC News
• How the far right tore apart one of the best tools to fight voter fraud by Miles Parks for NPR

Use Cases

• Amidst the election, a new network map analyzes politicians’ tweets by Alanna Irving for Open Collective
• War Criminals on VKontakte by Open Measures
• Open-source intelligence for investigating war crimes by Elena Rubashevska for Open Collective

Video Tutorials

• Social Media Analysis Toolkit (SMAT) | Open-Source Tool for Tracking Disinformation by TechForum on YouTube

Developer Resources

• https://docs.openmeasures.io/docs/guides/public-api
• Full API doc: https://api.smat-app.com/docs

Community and Support

• Support only for Pro and Enterprise options.

Tool provider

Open Measures

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Page maintainer
Bellingcat Volunteer Team