Analysis of Twitter feed on poverty to see underlying metapohrs.

1. The Many Faces of Poverty
Weekly Research Report for June 18, 2014
Prepared by:
Joe Brewer
Culture Designer
Change Strategist for Humanity T 206.914.8927 joe@culture2inc.com http://www.changestrategistforhumanity.com

2. Focus of This Report
This study looks at a variety of meanings for the word poverty as used in English-language Twitter
feeds. We have our own ideas for what it is supposed to mean. Yet, as this analysis shows, there
is much greater diversity “in the wild” where people can view it from many different perspectives.
By gathering a large number of tweets (roughly 1500 unique mentions), it is possible see this
variety and begin to give it structure.
As I set out to understand the many faces of poverty—as it shows up in the minds of people who
talk about it—a number of different lenses became apparent. It can be used to stir hope, to
differentiate people into separate groups, to express anger at marginalization, and more. In the
next few pages, I will showcase some of the different ways poverty is talked about to stimulate
discussion about how we want to conceptualize and articulate our view of poverty and what we
want to see done about it.
First, a snapshot of the discourse. This graph shows the number of unique expressions per day
for the month of May. Note that the magnitudes are roughly three times larger than those
computed for inequality last week. While inequality had 40 unique expressions per day,
poverty averaged 129—a larger amount of attention was paid to poverty during this period of
time.
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Number'of'Unique'Men/ons'on'Twi3er'
Day'of'Month'(May'2014)'
The'Poverty'Meme'on'Twi3er'
The Many Faces of Poverty Weekly Research Report for June 18, 2014

3. Breakdown of the Top Tweets for May 2nd, 2014
In the table below, I have ranked the five most “re-tweeted” expressions for a single day in early
May. Note that the #1 entry was shared 997 times. This begs the question why was it so
compelling to share? This is all the more pertinent considering that the same expression was
retweeted 1162 times on May 6th (see discussion on the next page). Clearly it struck a nerve and
compelled people to take action.
Rank Retweeted # Top Tweets for May 2, 2014
1 997
This child played a violin at his teacher's funeral. That teacher helped
him escape poverty & violence through music
2 480
How can they understand poverty, he is born with golden spoon, we
have sold Chai on the railway station : @NarendraModi in Gonda, UP
3 431
Notice a GOP pattern? Women can't testify on contraception & now
Paul Ryan wont let poor people testify on poverty
4 155
RT @CHIMPSINSOCKS: I'm Living #BelowTheLine for awareness &
critical funds to help people get out of extreme poverty. Sponsor me
at...
5 147 So global poverty fell by almost 1/2 Tuesday night
Commentary
✦ The #1 expression treats poverty as a trap to be escaped. It also tells an inspiring and
heartwarming story of the impoverished person getting help and becoming complete or
fully healed by the support of an elder.
✦ The #2 expression treats poverty as a perspective to empathize with, where the wealthy
person is presumed incapable of understanding the poor. This introduces a categorical
distinction between groups of people.
✦ The #3 expression treats poverty as a marginalized issue where those who can speak to it
with authenticity and legitimacy are intentionally excluded. Thus it is the target of political
attack.
✦ The #4 expression treats poverty as a container one might be trapped in, not necessarily a
prison but a trap of some sort. It suggests a logic that financial aid can free a poor person
in the trap.
✦ The #5 expression treats poverty as a mythical number based on measurement, where
changing the mode of measurement can “magically” change the number in an instant.
The Many Faces of Poverty Weekly Research Report for June 18, 2014

4. Breakdown of the Top Tweets for May 6th, 2014
A few days later, some of the same expressions were still trending. Yet the composition had
changed overall. The top performer is the same as the one from May 2nd. Note how inspiring
content spreads well. It is also important to note that who the content comes from (and their
place in the network) is vital to what spreads.1 This is an example of positive messaging spreading
better than negative messaging—a key part of the strategy for Upworthy as it seeks to share “good
news” far and wide. We can explore ways to help content spread by observing what already does
so. In this case, it was a touching story of reunion after death (emotionally powerful) that prompted
so many to share.
Rank Retweeted # Top Tweets for May 6, 2014
1 1162
This child played a violin at his teacher's funeral. That teacher helped
him escape poverty & violence through music
2 121
#Mexico Anti-Poverty Fund Draws Line at 3 Children http://t.co/
6JuCtqjtMl 'Mexican government's anti-poverty program gets
criticism afte...'
3 119
Hindu muslim se ladega? kuch milega?Muslims Hindu se ladega?
kuch milega?lets fight poverty! not by relegion! - Modi #144inAmethi
4 116
RT @Pressbrief: #RahulGandhi at Mirzapur, UP: In the past 10 yrs we
freed 15 cr people from poverty through MNREGA, Food Bill
5 115
#uk #ff #usa #news VIDEO: Poverty 'promises have not been kept'
http://t.co/PQsiQtbOe5
Commentary
✦ The #2 expression treats poverty as an issue to be addressed by policy in the form of a
government program that is under attack.
✦ The #3 expression treats poverty as an enemy to be defeated, a different metaphor that
evokes the War Frame for battling against poverty itself.
✦ The #4 expression treats poverty as an unjust prison to be liberated from, drawing attention
to the moral nature of putting someone in poverty as an act of wrong-doing.
✦ The #5 expression treats poverty as a promise or social contract that has not been met.
We can already see that some of the different expressions evoke similar conceptual structures, like
the metaphor treating poverty as a container in the form of a prison or trap that a person must
The Many Faces of Poverty Weekly Research Report for June 18, 2014
1 This one came from the account of David Reus (@Deividcova) which currently has 1899 followers. Most of his tweets
are also in Spanish, suggesting that this particular piece of information was strong enough to go viral on its own.

5. escape. It is helpful to ponder what the logic implies. If poverty is a “place” to escape from, then
the freedom to move from inside to outside becomes the focus for discussion. This is how a
particular frame can limit the range of options for discussion of solutions.
Breakdown of the Top Tweets for May 18th, 2014
Later in the month the conversation had changed quite a lot. The flow of ideas is dynamic and
ever-changing which is why we need to learn how change happens within the discourse in order
to guide the changes that we want to see emerge in the future.
Rank Retweeted # Top Tweets for May 18, 2014
1 614
This is an example of the Mexican poverty divide.
http://t.co/qidFwNDLWk
2 471
RaGa: 'Poverty is just a state of mind!Oh is it?This inefficient man
doesn't even know country's pathetic condition.
#SantSatayeSattaJaaye
3 325
(Poverty strikes all) @IndiaToday: Poll data shows large number of
Muslims voted for Modi http://t.co/jHx4Vd6CMohttp://t.co/
ddngmCWJ3H
4 276
RT @WOWFactsOfLife: The US has spent over $990 Billion dollars
on the 'war' with Iraq. This is enough to wipe out world poverty for
10 year
5 272
"There's no nobility in poverty. I've been a poor man & I've been a
rich man. And I choose rich, every fucking time." http://t.co/
axRwuPX0EL
Commentary
✦ The #1 expression treats poverty as a dividing line that separates classes of people. This
reduces empathy across the boundary by dividing the society into two distinct tribes, the
rich and the poor.
✦ The #2 expression treats poverty as a state of mind, equating it with emotional states like
depression, anger, or sadness.
✦ The #3 expression treats poverty as an antagonist who does harm to people, by placing it
in the role of the noun performing the action of “striking” (and therefore doing physical
damage to) the populace.
✦ The #4 expression treats poverty as a disease or plague that can be “cured” by spreading
the antidote, which in this statement is presumed to be aid money from wealthy nations.
The Many Faces of Poverty Weekly Research Report for June 18, 2014

6. ✦ The #5 expression treats poverty as an undesirable place to be. Given the choice, the
person would rather go to a place of wealth than a place of poverty.
In Closing
The purpose of this exercise was to demonstrate two points. Firstly, that there are many ways to
conceptualize or “frame” the idea of poverty. We have many meanings to choose from! Also, it is
important to keep in mind that the meaning another uses may well be different from our own.
Secondly, I wanted to show that the conversation is richly complex, multifaceted, and ever-
changing. Even within the span of a few days the composition of ideas shifted from theme to
theme and the emotional sensibilities that contributing to the behavior of sharing content changed
as well.
We will need to keep this dynamic quality of the discourse in mind as we seek to navigate the flow
of an evolving landscape of ideas. As the larger picture becomes more clear we will gain the ability
to make informed decisions about how we want to engage the poverty discourse. At this early
stage in the learning process my aim is merely to reveal more of the complex conversational
landscape.
The Many Faces of Poverty Weekly Research Report for June 18, 2014