Who Drives Disaster Communication? An Analysis of Twitter Network Structure and Influence during a Wildfire Crisis

Abstract

Oregon’s Almeda Fire destroyed over 2,000 residences and displaced thousands of people who evacuated with little warning or guidance from official or traditional media sources. Results of this social network analysis of 12,193 tweets from the active stage of the crisis show a clear clustered network structure, with citizens playing a more influential role in crisis information diffusion than government or media accounts. Additionally, some of the most widely shared information from nonlocal media accounts was misinformed or inaccurate. Findings suggest that crisis leaders should work to cultivate relationships with influential citizen journalists in wildfire-prone areas.

Keywords:

• Citizen Journalists
• Crisis Communication
• Social Media
• Twitter
• Wildfire

Disclosure Statement

This study did not receive funding and there are no financial or non-financial competing interests to declare.

Notes

1. Ethical review by a university Institutional Review Board found this study to be exempt under category two and in compliance with regulations for the protections of human subjects.