‘Truthy’ study of tweets is valuable to the public

[Commentary] Regarding Ajit Pai’s Oct. 18 op-ed, “A ‘Truthy’ study: #wasteful #Orwellian,” on the “Truthy” study of tweet trends: It is important to remember that the study is by the Center for Complex Networks and Systems Research. While it is government-funded, it is not a government project. The study aims to understand Twitter activity, such as how sentiments change over time in response to events, including political ones. Its results are published on its Web site. Truthy is not aimed at controlling tweets. It analyzes tweets to determine things such as, “Who are the most influential users and which are most popular over time?” It analyzes both liberal and conservative political issues and seeks to show how information spreads in the social network. Seems like something the public would like to know.