#whathappened : Do we trust social media in situations of crisis?
Ehn, Amanda (2018)
Åbo Akademi
2018
Julkaisu on tekijänoikeussäännösten alainen. Teosta voi lukea ja tulostaa henkilökohtaista käyttöä varten. Käyttö kaupallisiin tarkoituksiin on kielletty.
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe201804066359
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe201804066359
Tiivistelmä
Social media is widely used as a communication channel today, and especially in a crisis, information needs to be correct and reliable; it could mean the difference between life or death. However, social media also has another side; it brings people together after a crisis and gives people an opportunity to show solidarity and love to one another.
The aim of this thesis was to examine the relationship between social media usage and trust in situations of crisis, to shed light on the usage of social media in a crisis situation and whether the information retrieved from those platforms is trusted.
The thesis describes the theories behind trust, social media, and crisis communication in order to have a base to build the research on. The research focused on three questions: How was SoMe used by people affected by the attack in Stockholm 2017? Do those affected by the attack trust the information on social media? What are the greatest problems with social media in situations of crisis?
A single instrumental case study methodology was used to answer these questions, and the study itself was centered around the attack on Drottninggatan in Stockholm the 7th of April 2017. The participants in the study were either in Stockholm when the attack happened or had loved ones in the city. The study was conducted within a month of the attack.
The study revealed that not only was the information in a crisis trusted more than the general information on social media, it also described the usage of social media in a crisis and the factors that affected the reliability of the information shared on social media. It revealed the good and the bad aspects of social media during the crisis, and it revealed what the users think were the most significant problems with using social media in a crisis.
The factors that may determine the reliability of the information itself were the source of the information, the content, and fake news. Fake news was also labeled as one of the major problems with social media in a crisis and, also the lack of sufficient source criticism. The participants called for more official statements on social media, however, the study also showed that fewer than half of the participants followed any key communicator on social media which also posed a problem.
The conclusions drawn from this study were that social media is a proper communication channel which reaches many people in a very short time. Social media shows the best sides of humanity through features such as the hashtag, which is largely used to show solidarity after a crisis. However, the problems still exist even if social media is largely trusted and works well – problems such as the amount of fake news and rumors that are spread through social media. These problems can be reduced by educating people on the importance of source criticism, how to recognize fake news and not to share them.
The aim of this thesis was to examine the relationship between social media usage and trust in situations of crisis, to shed light on the usage of social media in a crisis situation and whether the information retrieved from those platforms is trusted.
The thesis describes the theories behind trust, social media, and crisis communication in order to have a base to build the research on. The research focused on three questions: How was SoMe used by people affected by the attack in Stockholm 2017? Do those affected by the attack trust the information on social media? What are the greatest problems with social media in situations of crisis?
A single instrumental case study methodology was used to answer these questions, and the study itself was centered around the attack on Drottninggatan in Stockholm the 7th of April 2017. The participants in the study were either in Stockholm when the attack happened or had loved ones in the city. The study was conducted within a month of the attack.
The study revealed that not only was the information in a crisis trusted more than the general information on social media, it also described the usage of social media in a crisis and the factors that affected the reliability of the information shared on social media. It revealed the good and the bad aspects of social media during the crisis, and it revealed what the users think were the most significant problems with using social media in a crisis.
The factors that may determine the reliability of the information itself were the source of the information, the content, and fake news. Fake news was also labeled as one of the major problems with social media in a crisis and, also the lack of sufficient source criticism. The participants called for more official statements on social media, however, the study also showed that fewer than half of the participants followed any key communicator on social media which also posed a problem.
The conclusions drawn from this study were that social media is a proper communication channel which reaches many people in a very short time. Social media shows the best sides of humanity through features such as the hashtag, which is largely used to show solidarity after a crisis. However, the problems still exist even if social media is largely trusted and works well – problems such as the amount of fake news and rumors that are spread through social media. These problems can be reduced by educating people on the importance of source criticism, how to recognize fake news and not to share them.