### The Question
Does social network data gathered online accurately reflect real-world offline relationships?
### Our Approach
This article directly compares online and offline social ties, using novel experimental methods. We collected data on both types of connections to test external validity.
### Key Finding
We found strong similarity between online and offline relationships despite their different contexts. The nature of these ties appears consistent across domains.
### Why It Matters
These results confirm that online network data can effectively test long-standing theories in political science about social networks' role in collective action.