Wednesday, 10 December 2014

What are people chatting about near the CIA's secret prisons?


10 December 2014 Last updated at 14:13 GMT

#BBCtrending: What are people chatting about near the CIA's secret prisons?

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The Twitter hashtag #torturereport has taken off since the US Senate's long-awaited release on CIA interrogation techniques - but what are people near the secret prisons saying?
The hashtag has been used 200,000 times in the past day. The report acknowledged a number of countries where the CIA ran secret prisons. While specific location details were censored, campaigners and journalists have put together a list of some of the approximate locations.
We looked at the website trendsmap.com for a snapshot of what people are chatting about on Twitter in some of those places. Although this is far from a scientific survey - for one thing, not all Twitter users allow their tweets to be located on a map - this exercise does throw up something interesting.
What is striking is that, although #torturereport was one of the world's top 10 most discussed subjects on Twitter today, it's not for Twitter users located near the secret prisons.
Romanians are tweeting more about bodybuilding and Trotsky than about the torture report. Romanians are tweeting more about bodybuilding and Trotsky than about the torture report.
Many tweeters in Kabul are expats - as shown by the tweets in English. They aren't talking much about #torturereport either. Many tweeters in Kabul are expats - as shown by the tweets in English. They aren't talking much about #torturereport either.
In Cuba, the internet is highly restricted - something that is clearly shown by the lack of tweets of any sort around Guantanamo Bay. In Cuba, the internet is highly restricted - something that is clearly shown by the lack of tweets of any sort around Guantanamo Bay.
There is one CIA site where #torturereport does appear prominently on the map - near CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, outside Washington. There is one CIA site where #torturereport does appear prominently on the map - near CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, outside Washington.
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Blog by Mike Wendling
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