Threat or Opportunity? - Examining Social Bots in Social Media Crisis Communication

Crisis situations are characterised by their sudden occurrence and an unclear information situation. In that context, social media platforms have become a highly utilised resource for collective information gathering to fill these gaps. However, there are indications that not only humans, but also social bots are active on these platforms during crisis situations. Although identifying the impact of social bots during extreme events seems to be a highly relevant topic, research remains sparse. To fill this research gap, we started a bigger project in analysing the influence of social bots during crisis situations. As a part of this project, we initially conducted a case study on the Manchester Bombing 2017 and analysed the social bot activity. Our results indicate that mainly benign bots are active during crisis situations. While the quantity of the bot accounts is rather low, their tweet activity indicates a high influence

I am what I am – Convergence Behaviors on Online Discussion About the Safety of COVID-19 Vaccines

Using data from an online discussion on the risk of getting blood clot from Johnson & Johnson vaccine moderated by the New York Times Facebook page, we investigated the presence of eleven convergence behaviors, and the interaction between them. While recent research focuses on misinformation or fake news as the object of analysis, we argue in this exploratory research that it is equally important to analyze who and, whenever possible, why people engage in information exchange given a particular crisis, hence their convergence behaviors. Mapping the types of postings to their authors would be an additional step to design, develop, implement, and possibly, regulate online discussions for a more effective and just civic engagement. As we witness a mass manipulation of public opinion, our findings suggest that the number of netizens that seek to correct misinformation is growing. If the society goal is to swiftly rebut as many conspiracy theories as possible, we advocate for a dual social media control strategy: restrain as much as possible the misinformation spreaders/manipulators and encourage correctors to help propagate countervailing facts

Media and Armed Conflict: Protection of Journalists and Media Facilities under Human Rights Law and International Humanitarian Law

This master thesis gives a comprehensive overview of the protection of journalists and media facilities in times of armed conflict. First, the thesis analyses, which legal regimes are applicable: international humanitarian or human rights law. In conclusion, it suggests a parallel application of both regimes while international humanitarian law is to be regarded as lex specialis in the event of an armed conflict. In the case of a discrepancy between norms of the two regulatory complexes, the lex specialis maxim solves the inconsistency as an interpretation rule. Thus, the human rights provision is interpreted in the light of the more specific humanitarian law provision. Secondly, the thesis examines the concrete norms under both legal regimes that protect journalists and media facilities. It finds that only human rights norms protect the work of journalists while international humanitarian law protects journalists as civilians and media facilities as civilian objects. In the event, that a (fatal) military attack on journalists or media facilities is justifiable under international humanitarian law, there exists a controversy with the right to life guaranteed in human rights law which is solved by means of the lex specialis principle. Finally, the extent of the de facto protection of journalists and media facilities in comparison to the assured de jure protection is tested. For this purpose, the effective protection of journalists and media facilities in general during the current South Sudan crisis is analysed as well as the protection of female journalists against gender-based rights violations in times of armed conflict. A huge discrepancy between the de jure granted protection and the actual protection is found in both cases. Therefore, this thesis stresses the need to adopt new binding international regulations specifically tailored to afford all journalists and media facilities the highest protection possible – especially in times of conflict

Victims of Political Violence and Terrorism

This book examines the survivors of political violence and terrorism, considering both how they have responded and how they have been responded to following critical incidents. As this work demonstrates, survivors of comparatively rare and spectacular violence hold a mirror up to society’s normative assumptions around trauma, recovery and resilience. Drawing on two years of observational field research with a British NGO who works with victims and former perpetrators of PVT, this book explores contested notions of ‘resilience’ and what it might mean for those negotiating the aftermaths of violence. Examining knowledge about resilience from a multitude of sources, including security policy, media, academic literature and the survivors themselves, this book contends that in order to make empirical sense of resilience we must reckon with both its discursive and practical manifestations. An accessible and compelling read, this book will appeal to students and scholars of criminology, sociology, victimology, criminal justice and all those interested in the stories of survivors

Effects of Symbol Sets and Needs Gratifications on Audience Engagement: Contextualizing Police Social Media Communication

We propose a research model based on media synchronicity theory (MST) and examine how the use of different symbol sets (e.g., images and text) is related to audience engagement on social media. We include uses and gratifications theory (UGT) in the model to identify task characteristics that are relevant to message recipients in the specific context of community policing. Based on our analyses of Facebook posts by five police departments, we find first that, consistent with MST, posts conveying information garner more responses when accompanied by more natural symbol sets, and more textual content is preferred to less, but responses differ depending on the type of engagement: intimacy (likes), interaction (comments), or influence (shares). Second, posts intended for meaning convergence gratify the audience’s socialization and assistance needs and are positively related to intimacy and interaction. Finally, the fit between symbol sets and task characteristics impacts different dimensions of audience engagement. These findings provide empirical support for relying on MST when studying social media and for integrating with UGT to capture contextual task characteristics. We conclude the paper with a discussion of the implications of its findings for theory and offer recommendations for practice

A state of emergency in crisis communication: An intercultural crisis communication research agenda

This article seeks to provide an evidence-based set of recommendations for the development of an intercultural crisis communication research agenda with three goals. First, to provide an advancement in our understanding of the state of crisis communication research in general. Second, to offer a grounded introduction to crisis communication for intercultural scholars who may not be as familiar with the field. Finally to identify three broad evidence-based areas for developing intercultural crisis communication research -- (1) representing different cultural perspectives in crisis communication research, (2) placing American crisis research in a global context, and (3) developing cross-cultural comparisons

The role of historical experiences in determining cultural preferences for domestic military deployments in Britain and France

This thesis examines the role of historical experiences in guiding cultural preferences for the use of the armed forces for maintaining domestic security in Britain and France. It finds that in recent years the level of threat from Islamist terrorism faced by both states has been comparable and yet two distinct sets of strategic preferences for the use of the armed forces domestically have emerged. To understand these differences this thesis poses three core questions: first, do Britain and France’s cultural preferences for acceptance or rejection of domestic military deployments derive from the perception of the national historical experience? Second, do these cultural preferences have a constraining effect on strategic behaviour? And third, if evidence of historically-derived cultural constraint can be found, what accounts for episodes of change in strategy over time? It hypothesises that these preferences stem from their respective strategic cultures. These strategic cultures have been cultivated through a series of ‘formative moments’ in their past which constrain their behaviour in the present. Changes in strategy will occur in the event of a receptive cultural environment and a strong leader and institutions who are capable of enacting change. However, enduring cultural preferences will always be evident in strategic behaviour. This thesis addresses the subject through a unique methodology that combines qualitative and quantitative techniques. First by charting all significant domestic deployments between 1800 and 2019 and coding each deployment according to its purpose, it seeks to identify the ‘formative moments’ in Britain and France’s past that may be guiding their cultural preferences. Then, over a thousand speeches and statements from British and French policymakers at each formative moment are analysed and compared in order to trace enduring cultural preferences for the use of the armed forces domestically over time. Ultimately, the purpose of this thesis is to understand the nexus between history, culture, and behaviour and its constancy or temporality over time. After all, if the trend in the modern era towards deploying the military on the national territory to fulfil a wide variety of tasks continues, it will be essential to understand the cultural sensitives attached to domestic deployments and the conditions under which they may be deemed acceptable

Victims of Political Violence and Terrorism

This book examines the survivors of political violence and terrorism, considering both how they have responded and how they have been responded to following critical incidents. As this work demonstrates, survivors of comparatively rare and spectacular violence hold a mirror up to society’s normative assumptions around trauma, recovery and resilience. Drawing on two years of observational field research with a British NGO who works with victims and former perpetrators of PVT, this book explores contested notions of ‘resilience’ and what it might mean for those negotiating the aftermaths of violence. Examining knowledge about resilience from a multitude of sources, including security policy, media, academic literature and the survivors themselves, this book contends that in order to make empirical sense of resilience we must reckon with both its discursive and practical manifestations. An accessible and compelling read, this book will appeal to students and scholars of criminology, sociology, victimology, criminal justice and all those interested in the stories of survivors

The function of intelligence in crisis management : towards an understanding of the intelligence producer-consumer dichotomy

This study is an analysis of the relationship between intelligence and policy, focusing specifically on the role of intelligence in crisis management. The conventional wisdom on intelligence and crisis management tends to examine each subject in isolation of the other. This study therefore provides an integrated approach to the theory of the intelligence process and the principles of crisis management, identifying those factors that influence the producer - consumer relationship. Past analyses of the intelligence producer - consumer relationship have revolved around the normative theory of the traditionalist and activist disciplines, as set forth in the Kent-Kendall debate. This study transcends that boundary. Building on the traditional concept of the intelligence cycle by examining the application of intelligence in crisis management, the study demonstrates how in practice the cycle is disregarded and circumvented. It provides new insight into the complexities of the traditionalist and activist approaches to intelligence, while demonstrating how intelligence can be used in support of crisis management and decision making. Using terrorism as a crisis phenomenon, the study utilises as case studies the series of terrorist attacks against United States' interests and foreign policy objectives in Lebanon during the first Reagan Administration from 1983 to 1985. It analyses the reasons behind the intelligence failures in preventing the bombing of the two U.S. Embassies and the U.S. Marine Barracks in Beirut. It also reveals the consequences of the kidnapping of the CIA Chief of Station, William Buckley, and the implications of that event for American intelligence capabilities during the Lebanon crisis. The role of intelligence and the tension between the intelligence and the decision making communities, as well as the media, during the hijacking of TWA Flight 847, are also analysed. By examining each case study through a framework that combines the intelligence cycle and crisis management principles, the responses of the Reagan Administration to the above threats and incidents are analysed. The conflicts between key decision making individuals in the Reagan Administration and their influence on the intelligence analysis process is also examined. The study reveals the interactive role and influence of the National Security Council Staff as the producer - consumer interface and the influence of the media and public interest on crisis decision making. It concludes with a presentation of an intelligence and crisis management paradigm, with suggestions for further academic endeavour in this field

Spanish security policy: a contemporary appraisal

This thesis will address the question 'how has the concept of national security changed in 21st century Spain?' It will account for the shifts in modern Spain's approach to security policy and is based on an analysis of three recent administrations and their decisions, such as to support the US invasion of Iraq, as well as the responses to the economic crisis of 2008, and changes heralded in a process of national security strategies. To date, Spain’s security in a broader sense has been little researched and this thesis examines a number of themes including securitisation, the indignados movement and the role of ministries in national security strategy. Case studies are used alongside Katzenstein's constructivist approach to analyse the evolution of security policy. The thesis synthesises the Copenhagen School's 'sectors' approach with a constructivist model to develop a concept of a culture of security in Spain supported by Clausewitz's 'remarkable trinity' to address the role of Spanish Prime Ministers. This approach has not been developed with regard to Spain before and, in conjunction with an analysis of the National Security Strategies of 2011 and 2013, it is argued that Spain's executive, the Prime Minister, still exerts an excessive influence on national policy and institutions. Interviews with key stakeholders and policy-makers underpin the argument that security in Spain remains contested and that recent initiatives to promote a broader security agenda are not supported in organisational structure or policy