Aleszu Bajak, Senior Data Reporter at USA Today, discusses his reporting on social media and politics using computational methods. We talk about the types of data that data journalists are working with, how they acquire it (e.g., Freedom of Information Requests), and how they approach reporting results in a way that tells an engaging story. We also dive into some of Aleszu’s recent reporting, such as Parler reactions to Donald Trump’s speech on January 6th, inequalities in Covid vaccinations, and the polarization of Congressional political rhetoric on social media over time.

Here are some links to the stories we discuss in the episode: 

‘Hope’ is out, ‘Fight’ is in: Does Tweeting Divide Congress, or Simply Echo its Divisions? 

When Trump Started his Speech before the Capital Riot, Talk on Parler turned to Civil War

How Critical Race Theory went from Conservative Battle Cry to Mainstream Powder Keg

And here’s Aleszu’s talk on tracking politics with data journalism – highly recommend!