The year 2022 will go down in history as a pivotal time for the news industry, marked by a series of world-shaking events. At Al Jazeera English, we responded to these events by providing informative, engaging coverage that resonated with our audience. The commitment to this approach was reflected in our persistent growth in Twitter following, which exceeded 8.2 million followers, with a record-breaking engagement of 8.6 million (likes, comments and retweets). Our growing presence on Al Jazeera English’s Twitter account in 2022 was a testament to the power of journalism to inform, educate, and empower. Organic publishing and native content have resulted in a 12.6% increase in our Twitter following compared to the previous year.
From the Russian invasion of Ukraine to the killing of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh and the end of the pandemic in sight, our Twitter coverage of world-changing affairs remained dedicated to journalistic integrity, reporting the facts with clarity and impartiality. We put people at the center of our reporting, ensuring that their voices are heard. By prioritizing people and their stories, we provided our audience with a deeper understanding of the issues that shape our world.
Al Jazeera’s 2022 Twitter Coverage Highlights
Our content strategy in 2022 was centered on producing unique and engaging native content while utilizing the platform’s features to their fullest potential. Through our innovative storytelling techniques, we successfully broke down complex stories and delivered informative coverage of world affairs. Our Live Updates, which allowed us to provide real-time coverage, further connected us with audiences around the globe, ensuring that we remained at the forefront of breaking news. Through TwitterSpace, we brought experts from around the globe in various fields and facilitate insightful discussions in real-time. We provided our audience with a deeper understanding of the issues that matter, whether it was political analysis, social justice issues, or environmental concerns. By making the best use of the platform’s offerings, we were able to stay ahead of the curve and differentiate our news coverage from competitors.
Examples of Twitter threads from Al Jazeera English’s Twitter feed:
Muhammad Al-Durrah: Remebering September 30, 2000
UK’s #BlackHistoryMonth
The stories that defined the year 2022
6 major developments that shaped 2022 for Palestinians
International Albinism Awareness Day
30 years since the start of the Bosnian War
Africa’s natural resources
Differences between endemic and pandemic diseases
Ramadan greetings in different languages
Shireen Abu Akleh
On May 11, 2022, our determination to deliver the news was strengthened after Israeli forces shot and killed Al Jazeera’s journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh, in the occupied West Bank. We recognized the importance of keeping our audience informed and up-to-date with the latest news and developments. Using daily LIVE update threads, we were able to maintain momentum and engage with our followers, which led us to be featured on Twitter’s news pages. Our efforts paid off, resulting in a staggering gain of 92.6k new followers in May alone. Al Jazeera and #shireenabuakleh were trending terms in May, and we had the largest share of voice terms compared with our competition including CNN, BBC, and Skynews. The coverage of the killing of a veteran journalist received high engagement on @AJEnglish in 2022, reaching 179.5M interactions in May alone.
As events unfolded, not only were we keeping our audience informed and updated on the situation, but we demanded justice for Shireen Abu Akleh. By leveraging our platform, we were to initiate meaningful changes by submitting a formal request to the ICC to investigate and prosecute those responsible for killing veteran Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. This experience reinforced our dedication to delivering timely and accurate news to our audience, and we will continue to do so in honor of Shireen Abu Akleh’s legacy.
Links:
https://twitter.com/AJEnglish/status/1524250091963432962
https://twitter.com/AJEnglish/status/1526208289608028161
Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine
On February 24, Russia launched an all-out invasion of Ukraine by land, air, and sea, the biggest attack by one state against another in Europe since World War II.
Our coverage focused primarily on the BREAKING news by producing a Twitter thread; LIVE updates from the various centres of warfare, with clips from reporters on the ground to video analysis/short-digestible-explainers interviewing academics/political analysts and weapons experts, and lastly using social cards to promote news stories.
As the initial invasion morphed into a war of attrition, with both sides bunkered in, we produced a daily thread; supplemented by a LIVE blog from our news desk. Important updates made the bulk of the threads, alongside daily video footage, viral clips, interviews with various state/political actors and social cards to promote features, galleries and opinion pieces.
We’ve had a daily thread for every day since the war began. Below are some examples of the threads that received the most engagement; views and click throughs which accounted for a significant gain in referrals.
We continue to cover the war.
Links
https://twitter.com/ajenglish/status/1496708241472032773?s=46&t=z1hmn7T-c7dN00DEXv8Zog
https://twitter.com/ajenglish/status/1497108814889467921?s=46&t=z1hmn7T-c7dN00DEXv8Zog
https://twitter.com/ajenglish/status/1497458190014992387?s=46&t=z1hmn7T-c7dN00DEXv8Zog
https://twitter.com/ajenglish/status/1497832519332474882?s=46&t=z1hmn7T-c7dN00DEXv8Zog
https://twitter.com/ajenglish/status/1498202765851566080?s=46&t=z1hmn7T-c7dN00DEXv8Zog
Imran Khan
April 11 saw our fourth highest day for engagement in 2022, as national protest gripped Pakistan after PM Imran Khan was removed from office after losing a no-confidence vote.
The day saw protests across all major cities in Pakistan, our coverage focused on a LIVE thread supplemented by a blog with regular updates, which gave us a significant online voice share in comparison to some of our competitors.
Social videos and galleries of the protest alongside a plethora of news stories saw us achieve an audience reach of over 6 million users on April 11 and within that 3-day period, starting April 9, we attracted over 16,000 new followers, and engagement was up 130% compared to our average.
Links
https://twitter.com/AJEnglish/status/1513426158561472516?s=20
https://twitter.com/AJEnglish/status/1513420392907554816?s=20
https://twitter.com/AJEnglish/status/1513443372748451842?s=20
Al Jazeera’s Major Wins of 2022
Our success in achieving impressive results year after year is a testament to our commitment to delivering engaging and innovative content. In 2021, our strategy focused on leveraging Twitter threads and hosting Twitter Space, while investing in original video content and finding innovative ways to distribute our most important written journalism. Our Twitter account has seen significant growth, with a 12.6% increase in followers through organic publishing, peaking at an impressive 8.24 million followers. In addition to our growing follower base, we’ve also seen a remarkable increase in engagement, surpassing last year’s total with a total of 8.6 million engagements.
We achieved a total of 101 million video views, a 22% increase compared to the previous year. We outperformed several of our competitors, including CNN International and BBC News. We also saw a 24% increase in overall video engagement by optimizing original video content. We continue to grow and win each year, pushing ourselves to new heights and outperforming our competitors.
As Al Jazeera continues to expand its impact in the world of news media, Twitter remains a crucial part of our social and digital strategy to connect and engage with our audience. We are dedicated to bringing comprehensive stories that are shaping our world.
Join us on Twitter and be a part of the conversation today.
