Russia-Ukraine War: A Topic Modeling and Sentiment Analysis Study based on X (formerly Twitter) Data

Authors

  • Aasif Ahmad Mir Department of Library and Information Science, Pondicherry University
  • Ishrat Ayub Sofi Department of Library and Information Science, University of Kashmir.

Keywords:

Topic Modelling, Sentiment analysis, Crisis communication, Social media Analytics

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore and analyse the discussed topics and sentiments expressed by individuals in their tweets related to the Russia-Ukraine War.
Methodology: The Tweet Archiver was used to retrieve the data regarding the Russia-Ukraine war from August 30 to September 30, 2022. During this specified timeframe, a total of 49994 Tweets were retrieved for analysis. A comprehensive analysis of data was performed by employing Python and its libraries. Topic analysis was carried out using BERTopic. The VADER library was used for sentiment analysis.
Findings: The study found ten predominant topics around which the discussions revolved. The most prevalent topic with the highest number of tweets is “NATO’s Involvement in Russia-Ukraine Conflict”, followed by “Geopolitical Tensions and Energy Politics in China, India, Russia, and Ukraine”. Moreover, the sentiment analysis demonstrated that the majority of tweets reflect negative sentiments, while the least emulate positive sentiments. However, a good number of tweets assumed a neutral standpoint towards the war. The geographical distribution of tweets highlights that tweets were poured in from 124 countries across the globe, with a significant contribution from the USA.
Originality: The study illustrates the sentiments and the topics of discussion regarding the Russia-Ukraine war, gains some insights into overall public communication about the war, and complements the existing literature.

Author Biographies

Aasif Ahmad Mir, Department of Library and Information Science, Pondicherry University

Aasif Ahmad Mir holds a PhD in Library and Information Science from Pondicherry University. He is associated as an author with reputed journals, like Journal of Information Science, International Journal of
Disaster Risk Reduction, Library Hi Tech, Annals of Library and Information Studies etc. Besides, he has presented papers at various international and national conferences. Additionally, he was serving as a research staff member for the UGC-DAAD Project-Based Personnel Exchange Programme (PPP 2022), focusing on Social Network and Scientometric Analysis in Collaborative Research Publications between India and Germany.

Ishrat Ayub Sofi, Department of Library and Information Science, University of Kashmir.

Ishrat Ayub Sofi is a Library and Information Science research scholar at the University of Kashmir. In addition to actively participating in academic conferences to share her ideas and discoveries, she also has research publications to her credit. Besides her research endeavours, Ishrat relishes her leisure time writing, allowing her to delve into diverse subjects and showcase her artistic abilities.

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Published

2024-12-05

Issue

Vol. 12 No. 2 (2024): Trends in Information Management

Section

Articles