Facebook and Twitter are pulling out all the stops these days to deliver every data point and metric they can about how people are using their platforms to talk about TV shows.

And it’s not just to prove their popularity; The New York Times reported Thursday that it’s all about showing Madison Avenue that their product is the second screen advertisers should focus on as they respond to a rapidly evolving TV industry.

There’s only one problem: the companies are trumpeting their own data when they say how many people interacted around a certain show or episode. With no independent referee, it’s hard to know how much of the data is just smoke and mirrors. After all, do advertisers really want to spend their dollars on a platform where the majority of the “conversation” is retweets and “like” button clicks?

The stakes are high for whichever social network can prove it deserves recognition as THE Second Screen: both platforms are going for a bigger chunk of the estimated $171 billion advertisers are poised to spend on all types of media this year.

Read more: The New York Times

Brief Take: With half of all Americans visiting a social network while watching TV, the company that can prove its worth as the go-to second screen stands to reap a substantial financial reward.

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