Social listening tools mapping
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The following mapping of social listening tools was conducted by colleagues at the United Nations Department of Peace Operations and provides and overview of different types of tools, their pros and cons, where and how to access them, and how to use these tools can be used by operations.
*NB: For use by UNHCR staff, due diligence would need to be conducted for each tool in line with HRDD, data privacy and ethical requirements before it could be recommended for use. While many of the tools provided access to large data sets, access to such large amounts of personal data requires robust safeguards and should be considered when choosing an appropriate method.
Broad Data Collection and Analysis Tools
| Name | Notes | How to Access |
| Talkwalker | Access to a wide range of social media data with in-built analysis functions. More tailored to brand monitoring. | https://www.talkwalker.com |
| Brandwatch | Access to a wide range of social media and news data with in-built analysis functions. Tailored to brand monitoring but also has some misinformation and disinformation analysis functions built in. | https://www.brandwatch.com |
| Meltwater | Access to a wide range of social media and news data with in-built analysis functions. Wide range of insights for brand monitoring and misinformation and disinformation analysis | https://www.meltwater.com/en |
| Dataminr First Alert | Access to the most comprehensive set of social media and news data of these tools. Offers fewer analytics features but specialises in alerts on incidents reported in the media. | Contact Information Integrity Unit for more information. |
Pros:
- Many data sources can be analysed.
- Vast data collection capabilities.
- Robust design and build.
Cons:
- Usually commercial and can be expensive.
- Can lack access to all required data.
- Limited data analytics capacity.
Specialized Data Collection and Analysis Tools
Name | Notes | How to Access |
| Phoenix | Phoenix is currently an open-access public manual and a set of open-source, non-commercial, customisable tools built in partnership with datavaluepeople. There are four tools available for download:
| Developed by BuildUP, The open-access public manual can be viewed here. |
| Civic Signal | Access to local news media collated across different regions of Africa. Topic mapping analysis tools are included. | Developed by Code for Africa. Free for anyone to sign up. https://civicsignal.africa |
| Unite Wave | Radio monitoring and analysis tool for monitoring online and offline radio stations. Limited analytical capabilities – designed for high level overviews – but also allows for raw data access. | Developed by UN Global Pulse and OICT. |
| Meta Content Library | Monitoring tool for Facebook and Instagram. Replacement for CrowdTangle. More limited data download capabilities. | Meta-owned tool. Free to access. Currently requires a very involved sign-up process which potentially has legal implications. https://transparency.meta.com/researchtools/meta-content-library |
| WhatsApp Explorer | Tool through which users of WhatsApp can ‘donate’ data from groups they are part of for monitoring. Dashboards also offer high level analytical features | Developed by academics at Rutgers. Can sign up to the tool directly through them for free. There are potentially legal implications to using the tool. Paper on the tool: https://arxiv.org/abs/2404.01328 |
| Telepathy | Tool for collecting Telegram data from public channels. Additional channels can be added to the tool to track them. | To access the user interface, a paid account is required but a free version is available to set up yourself if you have technical personnel to support. https://www.prose.ltd/products/telepathy-pro |
| TG Stat | Tool that collects data from Telegram channels is select countries. High level analytics are available. | Free to access up to a quota, with paid access possible after. Existing Telegram account needed. https://tgstat.com |
Pros:
- Enables access to specific datasets in higher volumes.
- Often freely available for use.
Cons:
- Limited analytical functionality.
- Sometimes temperamental for users.
Raw Data Collection and Custom Analysis Tools
Name | Notes | How to Access |
| X/Twitter API | Raw data access to X/Twitter data including message content, actor details and metadata. Data can be downloaded. | Contact Information Integrity Unit for more information. |
| Meta Content Library API | Raw data access to Facebook public groups and pages and Instagram public profile data including message content, actor details and metadata. Data cannot be downloaded. | Access to the API is only through a secure data environment. An account is needed with access to the Meta Content Library (see above). https://transparency.meta.com/researchtools/meta-content-library |
| YouTube API | Raw data access to YouTube data including links to videos, content of the titles, description and comments as well as metadata. Data can be downloaded. | Access is free (up to a certain quota) through a Google Developer account. https://developers.google.com/youtube/v3 |
| Telegram API | Raw data access to channels joined by account used to sign up to access. Data includes message content, actor details and metadata. Data can be downloaded. | Access is free (up to a certain quota) by registering with an existing Telegram account. Easiest access point is through Telepathy free Python software. https://core.telegram.org; https://pypi.org/project/telepathy/ |
| Google Trends API | Data on how many people are searching for certain terms and phrases, including where those people are located. Data can be downloaded. | Access is free (up to a certain quota). https://trends.google.com/trends/ |
| GDELT | News ‘event’ database, including access to raw news content from broadcast, print and web-based news media. Data can be downloaded and there are some analytical features online. | Access is free. https://www.gdeltproject.org |
Pros:
- Enables access to highly detailed datasets.
- Flexibility to perform your own analysis.
Cons:
- More limited by data access quotas.
- Requires more technical skills to handle data and design analysis.