# Twitpics as News Haiti Earthquake Pictures Hit Twitter Before Traditional News By Bianca | Published 2010-01-13 | Pop Culture Source: Trend Hunter, https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/haiti-earthquake-pictures References: [pcworld](http://www.pcworld.com/article/186805/tech_tools_tell_the_story_of_earthquake_in_haiti.html) After seeing how rapidly Haiti earthquake pictures spread on the web thanks to Tweets and Twitpics, it’s no wonder [Twitter](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/twitter-3d-gadget) is fast becoming a mainstream news source. “Twitter was a key tool for distributing images and information from Haiti—just as it has been in a number of other crises across the globe. The Sydney Morning Herald reported that images sent via Twitpic and other Twitter-based photo services were hitting the Internet long before news agencies produced anything similar,” according to PC World. TV and radio hosts in the Caribbean country were using Twitter as a resource for their stories, and Haiti earthquake pictures were making their way from Twitter feeds to the [CNN](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/newsreading-app) news desk. While Twitter can’t always be trusted as a credible source of news, in situations like breaking news, it is the fastest way to get [unbiased, unfiltered, uncensored information](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/operation-retweet) and imagery, getting word out much faster than mainstream media could ever do. The gallery above includes a few of the Haiti earthquake pictures currently found on the Twitpic accounts of [Mr_Sak_Pase](http://twitpic.com/photos/Mr_Sak_Pase) and [1080i60](http://twitpic.com/photos/1080i60). ## Trend Insights (Trend Hunter) - Score: 5.8/10 - Popularity: 98% | Activity: 68% | Freshness: 8% - Audience gender: 50% men, 50% women - Primary generations: Gen Z, Millennial - Top markets: North America, Europe, Asia ## Categories [Trend Hunter](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends) > [Pop Culture](https://www.trendhunter.com/popculture) > [Media](https://www.trendhunter.com/media) ## Key Themes ### What's Driving This Trend - **Rapid Online News Distribution:** The speed at which news and images can spread on social media platforms like Twitter provides an opportunity for disruptive innovation in the traditional news industry. - **Unbiased and Uncensored Information:** Twitter's ability to share information and imagery quickly and without filters presents a disruptive innovation opportunity for news organizations to provide unbiased and uncensored news coverage. - **Social Media as Mainstream News Source:** The use of platforms like Twitter as a primary news source highlights a potential disruptive innovation in how people consume news and stay informed. ### Who This Affects Most - **News Media:** The news media industry can take advantage of the rapid online news distribution trend by incorporating social media platforms like Twitter into their news dissemination strategies. - **Social Media:** The rise in social media as a mainstream news source creates an opportunity for disruptive innovation within the social media industry to develop more robust news-sharing features. - **Photography and Imaging:** The use of Twitpics and other photo-sharing services during breaking news events opens up new disruptive innovation opportunities for the photography and imaging industry to develop specialized tools and platforms for news professionals. ## Related on Trend Hunter - [Dedicated Social Media Devices](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/twitter-3d-gadget.md) - [Social Media Feature Updates](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/home-and-latest-tweets.md) - [Interactive News Platforms](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/newsflask1.md) - [Social Media Tipping Features](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/social-media-tipping-features.md) - [Integrated NFT Tweets](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/nft-tweet-tiles.md) - [Wildfire-Detecting Social Monitoring AI Tools](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/following-wildfire.md) - [Comprehensive Earthquake Alerts](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/quakeinfo.md) - [Cultural Social Media Documentaries](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/black-lives-matter-a-peoples-history.md) - [AI Image Location Search](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/ai-image-location-search.md)