Desaparecidxs: Leveraging Data on Disappeared Persons Using Twitter

Diego Alburez-Gutierrez, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research
Carolina Vieira, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research
Marília Nepomuceno, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR)
Tom Theile , Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research

Demographers have long neglected the population of disappeared. First, because it can represent a small proportion of the total population, especially in high-income countries. Second, because the data of disappeared persons are not always easily accessible. However, the representativeness of the number of disappeared persons can be important in regions that are experiencing dictatorships or are in violent settings. To date, little is known about the composition of this population by sex, age, or race/ethnicity. This study aims to use social media data to investigate the population of disappeared in Latin America, a region where several types of violence are increasing. By combining different data sources, including the Twitter data, our analysis offer a detailed picture of the population of disappeared in Guatemala. Finally, given the quality of the data shared on Twitter, this work can be replicated to other countries (e.g.Brazil) where data at individual level is available.

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 Presented in Session 28. Data and Measures. Session within the Project of Excellence of the Department of Statistical Sciences of Padova University