CBS pairs with Twitter for upcoming Dem debate

Twitter is partnering with CBS for the second Democratic primary debate next month, part of an increasing trend for news networks to team up with social media companies during the presidential contest. 

Twitter announced Monday that it will supply CBS with real-time data, which the network will incorporate into the Nov. 14 debate in the form of voter questions posed to the candidates and live reactions. 

{mosads}“CBS News is so pleased to partner with Twitter on our Democratic Debate. Our people have worked with Twitter’s unique curator tools to measure changing responses to what viewers will see on the screen,” CBS News President David Rhodes said in a statement. 

Facebook partnered with Fox News for the first Republican debate in September and with CNN for the first Democratic debate earlier this month. 

CNN incorporated a few questions solicited from Facebook during the broadcast, including one about the Black Lives Matter movement. 

Facebook — as it was during the 2012 cycle — remains the dominant social media platform. A poll earlier this year found that about 72 percent of online adults use Facebook, while about 23 percent use Twitter. 

While the pairings are increasingly frequent, they are not new. Google and Facebook had similar partnerships with news networks during the 2012 cycle, and ABC partnered with Facebook during the 2008 cycle.  

Social media and tech companies have become increasingly aggressive in pushing out debate analytics, mapping out which candidates were talked about the most and which moments received the most buzz, though the numbers do not break down support or opposition. 

That comes as those companies court candidates with opportunities to sell ads and gather data through their social media platforms.