Using Retweet Information as a Feature to Classify Messages Contents

We investigate the use of machine learning algorithms to classify content published in Online Social Networks using as input solely user interaction data, instead of the actual message content. During a period of six months, we monitored and gathered data from users interacting with news messages on Twitter, creating thousands of information diffusion processes. The data set presented regular patterns on how messages were spread over the network by users, depending on its content, so we could build classifiers to predict the topic of a message using as input only information of how it was diffused. Thus, we demonstrate the explanatory power of user behavior data on identifying content present in Social Networks, proposing techniques for topic classification that can be used to assist traditional content identification strategies (such as natural language or image processing) in challenging contexts, or be applied in scenarios with limited information access.