Trust, But Verify: Social Media in Crisis Communication

Centre for Emergency and Disaster Management Forum

6:30pm for 7:00pm start
Cost: Free, including refreshments
Parking: Free at Urban Village after 6pm
RSVP: Friday 11 October 2013

Social media play an ever-increasing role in crisis communication, as seen in major recent disasters from the Queensland floods through the Christchurch earthquakes to Hurricane Sandy and the Colorado floods.

Platforms such as Facebook and Twitter are used by emergency services, news organisations, and other authorities to disseminate crisis information to the general public, but also to source first-hand information from the disaster area which may come to play a role in further emergency management decision-making.

The implications of these uses of social media are not well understood. As social media updates by everyday users become relevant situational information for emergency services, verification becomes a crucial part of the process. How do we know what updates to trust? Which messages report the actual situation on the ground, and which only pass along rumours or even spread misinformation? How should emergency service organisations respond in situations where misinformation is rife? How can they correct rumours and ensure that official updates reach their intended audiences?

Drawing on the Russian proverb "trust, but verify", this free CEDM Forum highlights the opportunities and challenges of using social media in crisis communication, and discusses emerging approaches and solutions. It examines the role and value of social media in disaster contexts, explores current practices in key organisations, and examines the obligations of official crisis communicators as they engage with social media content. The Forum will bring together a panel of leading practitioners and researchers at state and national level, including:

Dr Paul Barnes
QUT School of Public Health & Social Work

Associate Professor Axel Bruns
QUT School of Media, Entertainment, Creative Arts, Media & Communication

Gary Kemble
Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Dr Amisha Mehta
QUT School of Advertising, Marketing & Public Relations 

Adam Moss
Queensland Department of Community Safety 

Assistant Commissioner Paul Stewart
Queensland Police Service

Moderator:
Peter McCutcheon
Australian Broadcasting Corporation 

Get Ready Queensland

This CEDM Forum is presented in conjunction with Get Ready Week, a Queensland Government initiative to build our resilience to deal with the extreme weather and natural disasters that are a part of living in Queensland. Visit http://qld.gov.au/getready for more information.

About CEDM

The QUT Centre for Emergency and Disaster Management (CEDM) conducts interdisciplinary research to reduce the impacts of emergencies and disasters on health, community and infrastructure. The Centre facilitates and enhances interdisciplinary collaboration between QUT researchers and our industry and research partners, and promotes the field of emergency and disaster management research as an emerging, selective area of research concentration and strength at QUT.

Contact: cedm@qut.edu.au or +61 7 3138 3960
CRICOS No 00213J