Abstract
In addition to using social media to connect with others worldwide, many people nowadays get their news about different national or international events such as natural disasters, crises, political elections, conflicts etc. via social media. This evolution in the usage of social media has not only led to the generation of massive amounts of data but also various information consumption behaviors. In this study, we developed a framework that can be used to monitor/understand, analyze, and visualize in real time how people consume information and react to events. Following the case study of Apple, Inc. vs. FBI, we tracked the usage of the #NoBackDoor on Twitter in real time and were able to understand what people are thinking about the case and who are the actors involved in this network. The framework can be applied to study other events and provide a deeper understanding of how public sentiments evolve during an event, whether it is a crisis or major news event.