Research pick: Twitter in times of crisis - "Emergent uses, as rumour systemic analysis, of Twitter messages during social crises"

Social media applications, such as Twitter, are becoming increasingly important modes of information dissemination especially in times of crises, where individuals can provide insight and information to those involved and those outside in a much more timely manner than traditional media. Writing in the International Journal of Applied Systemic Studies, researchers from Greece explain how they have analysed the rumour mill that is social media, with specific reference to Twitter.

“Twitter users collectively cover the main aspects of disasters from many angles,” the team found. They suggest that official agencies should recognise just how important social media can be during a crisis and see it as a potential tool not only for informal social reporting but also for providing collective intelligence at “ground zero”. By bearing this in mind it could be possible to use it as a tool to help those attempting to manage a crisis, whether a terrorist attack, natural disaster, or large-scale industrial accident, to adapt to the situation to endless uncertainties and to ensure conservation of life and the environment.

The team shows how personal anxiety, user reputation, and many other factors feed into the credibility and perceive importance of any given information disseminated on Twitter and whether or not it is considered nothing but rumour or actual fact. Such factors must also be taken into account by so-called stakeholders attempting crisis management as well as those affected by the crisis directly.

Chondrokoukis, G. and Drakos, I. (2018) ‘Emergent uses, as rumour systemic analysis, of Twitter messages during social crises’, Int. J. Applied Systemic Studies, Vol. 8, No. 4, pp.353–370.