How Twitter has changed coverage of MMA

MMA Lead Writer Jonathan Snowden wrote a terrific piece Tuesday examining the growth of Twitter as a journalism tool in the sport.

MMA fans have embraced the social media platform in huge numbers and the result has been a huge shift in how news is disseminated. Not just what kind of news, but who is bringing it to you.

Snowden interviews several people who have made names for themselves reporting on MMA and breaking news via Twitter, including those who tweet under the names FrontRowBrian, Ph.D and Jiggle Biscuits.

But Snowden also offers a warning, before detailing a case where someone jumped to a conclusion at tweeted a false accusation:

Sometimes the lawlessness of the Internet gets the best of these Twitter stars. They don’t have the fact-checking obligations of their professional peers. Their relative lack of financial resources essentially frees them from worrying about a defamation suit. These two things combined open the door for some truly reckless reporting.

On that note, here’s a review of some of our coverage of Twitter and its issues as a reporting tool:

• Verifying sources: A primer and checklist
• Verifying stories on social media: A reading list from Poynter
• Verifying news from social media: Good advice from the #ows beat
• Spreading rumors on Twitter: It’s not the same as office gossip
• Twitter guide for B/R writers: What you should and shouldn’t do
• Let HuffPost, CNN, Mediaite’s Twitter mistake be a warning