University of Kwazulu-Natal

Strategies For Countering Misinformation During Crises

Bonisiwe Shabane
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strategies for countering misinformation during crises

Combating the Infodemic: How Misinformation Hinders Crisis Response and What Communicators Can Do In today’s interconnected world, crises often unfold simultaneously in the physical realm and the digital landscape. While emergency response teams grapple with the immediate dangers of natural disasters, pandemics, or other emergencies, a parallel battle is waged against the rapid spread of misinformation and disinformation. This "infodemic," as it has been termed, can exacerbate the real-world consequences of a crisis, impeding relief efforts and sowing confusion among affected populations. Justin Ángel Knighten, former associate administrator in the Office of External Affairs at FEMA, brings firsthand experience to this critical issue, having witnessed the detrimental impact of misinformation during responses to events like Hurricanes... He emphasizes the urgent need for proactive communication strategies to counter the spread of false information and ensure that accurate, life-saving guidance reaches those who need it most.

Knighten’s experiences illustrate the challenges faced by emergency management agencies in the digital age. During the hurricanes, FEMA struggled to disseminate vital evacuation information amidst a torrent of false and misleading content circulating online. The speed and scale of misinformation dissemination, often fueled by automated bots and malicious actors, overwhelmed traditional communication channels. The resulting confusion and distrust hampered evacuation efforts and delayed the delivery of essential aid. Knighten stresses that the proliferation of AI-driven content poses a significant threat, enabling the rapid creation and dissemination of fabricated stories, manipulated images, and deceptive narratives. The ability of these AI tools to mimic human communication makes it increasingly difficult to distinguish between credible sources and malicious actors.

One crucial lesson learned from these experiences is the necessity of proactive communication strategies. Waiting for misinformation to spread before responding puts organizations on the defensive and makes it harder to regain control of the narrative. Instead, communicators need to anticipate potential sources of misinformation and develop preemptive strategies to address them. This includes building strong relationships with trusted media outlets, engaging with communities through social media platforms, and establishing clear channels for disseminating verified information. Proactive communication also involves educating the public about how to identify misinformation and encouraging critical thinking skills. By empowering individuals to discern fact from fiction, we can collectively build resilience against the spread of harmful narratives.

Another crucial element in combating misinformation is effective monitoring. Organizations need to actively track online conversations, social media trends, and emerging narratives related to their area of expertise. This allows them to identify potential sources of misinformation early on and develop targeted responses. Monitoring can involve using social listening tools, tracking relevant hashtags, and engaging with online communities. By staying attuned to the information landscape, organizations can anticipate potential crises and prepare effective communication strategies in advance. In today’s tumultuous landscape, the rise of misinformation and disinformation during disasters poses a significant challenge to effective crisis communication.

The recent response to Hurricane Helene has starkly illustrated how false narratives can exploit the chaos, undermining trust in relief agencies and governmental institutions. As crisis communicators, our role is to deliver timely and accurate information and confront misinformation head-on. We are integral to the process of combating false narratives that jeopardize recovery efforts. The advent of social media has transformed the dissemination of information, allowing misinformation to spread at an alarming rate. To navigate this landscape, crisis communicators must adopt forward-thinking strategies that are not merely reactive but proactive. These strategies empower us to be prepared and in control.

Here are key tactics informed by historical and contemporary examples, including Taiwan’s 2024 presidential elections, the 2023 Maui wildfires, the U.S. Coast Guard’s Deepwater Horizon response, and lessons from FEMA’s rapid response team model. The first step in combating misinformation is anticipating its occurrence. Crisis communicators should recognize that misinformation always arises in disasters and has throughout history—it’s the rule, not the exception. We can prepare and develop forward-leaning strategies by anticipating its emergence, including plans for dedicated teams and dissemination, monitoring, and response protocols. A dedicated misinformation monitoring team is essential to identify and counter false narratives effectively.

This team should comprise experts in social media analysis, crisis communication, and community engagement, and it should be responsible for continuously monitoring various platforms for emerging misinformation trends. For example, Taiwan’s proactive measures during its 2024 elections included a dedicated real-time monitoring team for identifying and debunking false claims (Taiwan Digital Diplomacy Association, 2024). Once misinformation is detected, it is crucial to analyze its origins, types, and potential impacts on the community. By triaging the most misleading narratives, we can prioritize responses. Not all misinformation poses an equal risk; focusing resources on narratives that could lead to significant public harm is essential. By Dan Stoneking and Ed Conley for Homeland Security Today

In today’s tumultuous landscape, the rise of misinformation and disinformation during disasters poses a significant challenge to effective crisis communication. The recent response to Hurricane Helene has starkly illustrated how false narratives can exploit the chaos, undermining trust in relief agencies and governmental institutions. As crisis communicators, our role is to deliver timely and accurate information and confront misinformation head-on. We are integral to the process of combating false narratives that jeopardize recovery efforts. The advent of social media has transformed the dissemination of information, allowing misinformation to spread at an alarming rate. To navigate this landscape, crisis communicators must adopt forward-thinking strategies that are not merely reactive but proactive.

These strategies empower us to be prepared and in control. Here are key tactics informed by historical and contemporary examples, including Taiwan’s 2024 presidential elections, the 2023 Maui wildfires, the U.S. Coast Guard’s Deepwater Horizon response, and lessons from FEMA’s rapid response team model. The first step in combating misinformation is anticipating its occurrence. Crisis communicators should recognize that misinformation always arises in disasters and has throughout history—it’s the rule, not the exception. We can prepare and develop forward-leaning strategies by anticipating its emergence, including plans for dedicated teams and dissemination, monitoring, and response protocols.

A dedicated misinformation monitoring team is essential to identify and counter false narratives effectively. This team should comprise experts in social media analysis, crisis communication, and community engagement, and it should be responsible for continuously monitoring various platforms for emerging misinformation trends. For example, Taiwan’s proactive measures during its 2024 elections included a dedicated real-time monitoring team for identifying and debunking false claims (Taiwan Digital Diplomacy Association, 2024). Use these research-based strategies to ensure that truth prevails in your organization. In the spring of 2020, a dangerous threat was making its way around the globe. By March, it was being spread by tens of thousands of hosts per day.

Most of its victims, unfortunately, did not realize what they had encountered. Instead of taking precautions, many went on to become vectors themselves, passing it on and putting others at risk. What was this insidious force? It was misinformation. While misinformation, "fake news," and the "post-truth" era have been buzzwords for several years, the coronavirus pandemic has revealed just how harmful these sources of falsehood can become. After all, the virus and viral misinformation have a symbiotic relationship.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the World Health Organization, put it this way: "We’re not just fighting an epidemic; we’re fighting an infodemic." A recent study by Notre Dame faculty in the Center for Network and Data Science found that the outbreak of COVID-19 led to a stunning rise in news articles. In March, when news output on coronavirus peaked, 123,623 articles about the virus appeared in a single day. The research team discovered that less than a quarter (23.6%) of the articles published on the virus came from relatively unbiased sources. The sources that dominate the media landscape were those more likely to spread pseudoscience or even conspiracy theories. .page-hero-full .video_external { position: absolute; top: 0; right: 0; bottom: 0; left: 0; background: rgba(0,0,0,.2); } .page-hero-full video { z-index: -1; }

Information pollution is affecting the citizens’ capacity to make informed decisions. Disinformation, misinformation, and mal-information together with the growth of hate speech and propaganda, especially online, are inciting social divisions and creating mistrust in public institutions. In the past decade, significant resources by international development partners have been invested in tackling this growing global phenomenon that is also negatively affecting social cohesion in the region. Through different and numerous examples of government-led and independent responses to information pollution, societies in the region are showing that they have recognized disinformation to be a serious threat to their countries’ social, political... To raise awareness and understanding of information pollution as an important contributory factor to the growing security threats and development challenges in the Europe and Central Asia region, UNDP's Istanbul Regional Hub in collaboration... .page-hero-full .video_external { position: absolute; top: 0; right: 0; bottom: 0; left: 0; background: rgba(0,0,0,.2); } .page-hero-full video { z-index: -1; }

- Political Narratives - Hate Speech - Gendered Disinformation

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