ABSTRACT
The massive floods that swept through Queensland, Australia, in 2010 and 2011 were devastating by any measure of the word. In early January 2011, an area almost twice the size of the United Kingdom was under water. As often happens in Australia, the disaster also triggered a flood of tweets. One of the most active Twitter accounts at the time belonged to the Queensland Police Service Media Unit, @QPSMedia. And on the evening of January 11, 2011, the Media Unit began posting tweets with the hashtag #mythbuster to tag rumors and misinformation that were circulating on Twitter. These #mythbuster tweets were some of the most widely forwarded (retweeted) messages posted by @QPSMedia. Two examples:
The #mythbuster hashtag proved especially successful in dispelling the rumors, which is why the Queensland Police continues to employ this same tactic to this day.1 The Queensland Police’s hashtag solution is a simple and elegant way to counter rumors. But how do we detect rumors in the first place and as early as possible?
