In the realm of modern communication, social media stands as a pivotal force reshaping how we interact, share, and respond to information within our community. Big social media platforms such as Facebook X/Twitter initially created as platforms for personal connections are dynamically incorporating its purpose to evolve as a powerful tool that connects both personal and professional worlds. Today, the impact of social media extends more than just a social networking site, it’s evolving into a tool to help aid users during crisis management by enabling users for prevention, preparedness, response and recovery. Its systematic goal is to help minimise the negative impact or consequences of crisis and disasters, thus protecting societal infrastructure (Emmanouil. D, Nikolaos, D 2015). Traditional crisis communication relied heavily on a top-down directive from government and humanitarian bodies. However, this model is shifting with the use of social media where individuals are able to broadcast messages instantaneously, thereby catalysing a bottom-up approach to crisis responses. This shifting landscape helps with rapid dissemination of information but also enables localised knowledge exchange within online communities. Crises are complex in nature, have disproportionate effects and can move at varying speeds. By harnessing the characteristics of social media tools, organisational capacity to demonstrate resilience in response to crises can be significantly enhanced (J. C. Chan, 2013). While social media has the ability to prevent crises from spiralling out of control, it can also have the ability to aggravate an unfolding crisis situation if kept unmoderated (J. C. Chan, 2013). In a digital era where anyone can publish content with a few clicks, discerning truth from falsified information is becoming increasingly challenging. In this paper I’ll discuss some of the benefits that social media can help enhance users during crisis management and talk about some of the risks that can occur if left unmoderated.  

Social media is often defined along the lines of any website or application that enables users to engage in social networking activities such as creating, sharing or iterating with information. Social media platforms have helped promote establishing a convenient link with friends and family across the world and in today’s social media has grown beyond a space for just personalised interaction, it has transformed into a professional space running alongside the personal space (T. M. Nisar et al, 2019).  In the increasing trend of individuals using their mobile phones to go online worldwide and once online 76% of internet users across 40 countries surveyed use social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter (Poushter, J. 2016) which has surpassed the time spent on traditional media forms such as television, radio and print. The surge of these platforms in line with the technology from mobile communication devices has expanded the capabilities from just peer-to-peer communication and collaboration but increasingly it’s being used as a tool during disaster impact and emerging incidents. Traditionally, crisis and risk communications have heavily relied on mass media, however, in recent years, social media has emerged as another important source for information dissemination. Compared with the one-way communication of traditional mass media, social media is breaking the traditional sender/receiver models (Xiao, Y, et al, 2015). Users of social media and its streams can receive and send messages without needing to wait for professional news reports to get their information. Through the use of individuals gathering grassroots information on situations and sharing messages can be quickly disseminated through social media networks. This backchanneling communication approach represents the power of users and sharing information in emergency situations when traditional media outlets provide insufficient information about local conditions or lag in their response (Xiao, Y, et al, 2015). This evolving trend wasn’t thought to be social media’s purpose but is quickly becoming an important factor in crisis management. Leveraging social media technologies, it can provide users with better information to help communities handle a crisis event more efficiently which is shifting the digital landscape.

Traditional crisis management is top-down where instructions are issued in what is a typical command-and-control style from government or humanitarian emergency organisations. Citizen responses are bottom-up where reporting from affected users on the ground and individuals can broadcast a message immediately (Hiltz, S. R, et al, 2011). This changing landscape helps promote localised knowledge to their communities, provides immediate call for assistance for those in need and builds flexibility as services can quickly adjust their efforts based on the evolving circumstances. The integration of social media in daily lives has dramatically changed how victims, volunteers and first responders exchange information to help seek and provide help during and post disasters. During the Hurricane Harvey event of 2017, hundreds of Texas residents sought help by posting to social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Users posted pictures of situations and tweeted their addresses to emergency officials and as they felt traditional methods such as calling 911 were not adequate enough. Significant overload of demand meant a lot of people were on hold and with infrastructure being down such as telephone poles, cable, fibre nodes and power in neighbourhoods created challenges for those seeking help. Mainstream media was not real-time enough and so social media became an important tool to spread information widely and allowed volunteer groups to organise effective rescue missions  (M. Jahanian, et al, 2018). Big organisations such as Facebook and Google have recognised the need for users during crisis events and have implemented means to help improve the information available. Some of the latest tools to help aid disaster management have come from Google and Facebook. Google can now provide public geo-spatial disaster information such as updated satellite images, flood zones, evacuation routes and shelters. Facebook has also implemented a disaster response feature that allows users in the affected areas to find or offer help through information on food, clothes, fuels etc. Furthermore, Facebook has implemented their safety check function which allows users close to the area and to share information that they are safe quickly to their friends on Facebook  (M. Jahanian, et al. 2018). The incorporation of social media into crisis management and communication has shown that it’s important to satisfy the demands of today’s information and media (Weiner. D 2006).

Big social platforms like Facebook and X/twitter allow users to find up to date information on just about any topic they are interested in. The speed of information that can travel through these sites can play an important role when it comes to world wide events. While there are significant benefits of using social media to release timely news and updates, the unmoderated nature of these sites is a breeding ground for misinformation which poses a pressing challenge in today’s society. The spread of fake news during crisis events proves to be very dangerous during these mancing situations, as the integrity and accuracy of emergency communications is of the utmost importance (K. Hunt et al, 2020). In August of 2017 during Hurricane Harvey in Houston where high winds and overwhelming flooding were occurring and residents were evacuating homes and a false rumour was spread across Twitter that stated undocumented immigrants could not seek safety at Texas shelters. This rumour was spread through the site and created chaos and confusion among undocumented immigrants as it was stated they won’t be able to enter the shelters due to checking IDs at the doors. With over 500,000 undocumented immigrants in the Houston area, this proved to be extremely dangerous as their opportunity of safety was seen as unfavourable (K. Hunt et al, 2020). Another example of this was in October 2017, in the United States a shooter opened fire on an open concert in Las Vegas resulting in the deaths of 58 people and over 400 injured. During the madness of the event as attendees rushed to find safety a piece of misinformation was spread claiming that the University Medical Centre was out of beds and that no other patients could be serviced. This critical information plagued the Twitter network and put many concert attendees at potential risk as many injured people needed medical attention. The threat of misinformation through-out social media brings the need for timely and valid debunking posts from trustworthy accounts. Governments and other major accounts typically turn to social media in conjunction with traditional mass media to supply the public with updated information.  In the case of Hurricane Harvey, a huge debunking effort was generated by local government, news agencies and large trustworth accounts to spread the news that the rumours were false by posting factual information. This displays signs that crisis management agencies are considering the impact social media has and the power that comes with it. However, this evidence shows that the process of identifying and monitoring misinformation can require a significant amount of time and human resource to combat. (K. Hunt et al, 2020). This poses an interesting challenge for governments and large bodies to walk the fine line between incorporating social media during a crisis event while managing enough resources to verify and debunk falsified information. 

Social media platforms such as Facebook, X/Twitter have emerged as a valuable piece of technology in aiding crisis management to assist users for prevention, preparedness, response and recovery. However, misleading information and improper conduct has often caused negative effects among users which can have huge impacts. During the time of a disaster (natural or man-made) people try to communicate with their family and friends in the area to enquire about the safety and security of their lives. While traditional means of seeking help through mediums like phone networks and mass media during a surge of activity have proven challenging to get accurate information quickly. Online social media like Facebook and X/twitter can be used as a tool to serve its users.  (Anita. S & Sukomal. P, 2020) These platforms have the ability to deal with large traffic, can stay online and can create a medium of communication by removing the barriers of one-way communication and opening up other channels for people to access real-time information. Users can share their well being and location with friends and family which can be vital pieces of information in an emergency.  Social media platforms have emerged as powerful tools for shaping narratives and influencing perceptions on a global scale. Whether through curated posts, hashtags, or algorithm-driven content, individuals and entities wield immense power in constructing and disseminating narratives online. During a crisis event, social media has the capacity to mould public opinions and shape collective consciousness to a more efficient way to get the information out to users in need. Tech giants like Google, Facebook and X/Twitter have built in features to their platforms that help enable users to access and gather information quickly through the use of geo-location updates on affected areas which is proving to be an important tool in a time of need. Communities and rapid-response on these platforms are great for enabling users to get information they need on a global scale, however,  it isn’t a bullet proof approach. This power can come with risks, if misinformation is left unchecked it can create chaos and confusion which can be potentially fatal if left unmoderated. The adoption to utilising social media during a crisis management is still in a growing phase with conjunction to government and humanitarian bodies. There are great benefits to incorporating these platforms to help those in need to make management of these events more efficient. However, allocating the proper resources to prevent it from being negative need to be considered carefully if the adoption is to succeed long term. 

 

 

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