We recently used Paraqeet to uncover insights from the Twitter conversations surrounding the GameStop trading frenzy that thrust Robinhood into a communications crisis. Here is a look behind the curtain, showing how we used the platform to arrive at our conclusions.
First Impressions:
This tweet from 2016 formed the center of the network. The internet quickly resurrected Robinhood’s statement to “Let the people trade” — in contradiction to the brokerage firm’s decision that day to freeze purchasing of GameStop stock (and others).
It was quickly apparent that Robinhood was being targeted online. Going deeper into the network offered an explanation for why this was the case.
Insight Into the Controversy:
By filtering the search to verified users only, the network captured the politicians, public figures and news outlets guiding the day’s narratives. It quickly became clear that a David vs. Goliath story captivated the internet. Influential figures stepped in to vouch for the “everyday” retail investor.
Robinhood (finally) offers an explanation:
After a day of confusion and accusation, Robinhood’s CEO, Vlad Tenev, broke his silence in an interview with journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin. The interview’s high influence in @RobinhoodApp’s network demonstrates an internet desperate for answers.
However, Tenev’s explanation seemed to do little in appeasing the public, whose feelings of mistrust and anger toward Robinhood were brewing all day.
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