Tool for journalists: Thread Reader, for turning Twitter threads into articles

Credit: Image by Foundry Co from Pixabay

What is it? Thread Reader is an online platform which converts Twitter threads into coherent articles and PDFs.

Cost: Free, with paid-for options

How is it of use to journalists?

Twitter threads are a useful tool for journalists to report from conferences, social gatherings or court rooms.

Using Twitter posts has proved to be a great way to engage social media audiences with content suited for sharing. The BBC, for example, have used Twitter threads as an open-source tool to tell deep investigative stories.

The downside of threads is that they can be clunky to read and get lost in the noise of the Twittersphere. To help you out, Thread Reader can both present Twitter feeds in a neat format and store them for later.

So, how do you get started?

The first thing you need is a good Twitter thread.

THREAD

In the lead-up to Madagascar’s 2018 Presidential elections, teams of Russian 'tourists' and 'observers' were spotted on the island.

Who were these Russians? What were they doing in the country? And who was backing them?#BBCAfricaEye investigates. pic.twitter.com/k4Hz6BJ2Ka
— BBC News Africa (@BBCAfrica) April 10, 2019

Next, download the Thread Reader Chrome extension.

Hit the drop arrow on the tweet. Then by hitting 'unroll in Thread Reader', it will automatically open the thread onto the platform for you.

Alternatively, you can hit 'copy link to Tweet'.

Then paste into Thread Reader.

Both options will 'Unroll' the thread, to enjoy like an article, complete with all media attachments and comments.

By the way, it also creates a brand new URL so you can share the article and others can see your new version on demand. Hit the link and see this new and improved BBC thread for yourself.

It is as simple as that, but there is more you can play around with.

If you log in using a Twitter or other email account, you can bookmark your threads and come back to them later.

You can also view the most recent threads that have been uploaded to the platform straight from the homescreen by other users.

This way, people can discover your threads too and you might stumble upon an interesting dive. All of the above can be done without spending a penny.

You will notice there are options to subscribe to authors and also turn those threads into PDFs. Handy tools for cleaner reading and receiving alerts, but those are premium options which you can get for $3 a month or $30 a year.