CrowdTangle

CrowdTangle was established in 2011 by Brandon Silverman and Matt Garmur. Initially conceived as a tool for community organizing, the company pivoted after identifying a more significant opportunity to assist publishers. This strategic shift led to the development of a social media analytics platform. The core of their business was a dashboard that enabled users to track and analyze the performance of public content across major social platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Reddit in real-time.

The platform served a wide range of clients, including prominent media publishers such as BuzzFeed, Vox, and CNN, as well as sports teams, brands, nonprofits, and investigative journalists. Its primary function was to help these organizations understand which stories and posts were gaining the most traction and engagement online. By providing insights into competitor performance and identifying influential accounts, CrowdTangle allowed content creators to optimize their social media strategies and identify traffic-generating content. Features included real-time dashboards, custom notifications, and data visualizations.

In November 2016, Facebook (now Meta) acquired CrowdTangle for an undisclosed sum, a move seen as strengthening Facebook's relationship with publishers. Following the acquisition, Meta made the tool free for newsrooms, researchers, and fact-checkers, significantly expanding its user base. The tool became instrumental for journalists and academics to study the flow of information, including the spread of misinformation and conspiracy theories. However, this transparency often led to reports that highlighted the prevalence of right-wing content on the platform, causing friction between CrowdTangle and Meta executives. In 2021, Meta disbanded the CrowdTangle team, and its founder and CEO, Brandon Silverman, departed the company. Meta officially shut down the CrowdTangle platform on August 14, 2024, replacing it with the more restrictive Meta Content Library, primarily available to academics and nonprofit researchers.

Keywords: content discovery, social media analytics, publisher tools, audience engagement, social monitoring, real-time trends, influencer identification, link tracking, social performance measurement, media insights, content strategy, data transparency, social listening, newsgathering, competitive analysis, viral content tracking, Facebook analytics, Instagram analytics, misinformation research, election integrity