Esaiasson, Peter

Johansson, Bengt

Sohlberg, Jacob

English

University of Central Florida (UCF): STARS (Showcase of Text, Archives, Research & Scholarship)

UNCERTAINTY IN CRISIS NEWS REPORTINGINTERNATIONAL CRISIS AND AND RISK COMMUNICATION CONFERENCEJacob Sohlberg, Bengt Johansson & Peter EsaiassonBackground• In the aftermath of terrorist attacks and mass shootings, rumors often abound• Puts news media in a difficult position• Dilemma: quick reporting vs. accurate reportingJournalistic solution to the dilemma: Uncertainty words• When journalists are unsure about the reliability of something, but still want to report it, they sometimes rely on uncertainty words/phrases• Examples: unconfirmed, unverified, uncertain, unreliableWhat about news consumers?• Do ordinary people understand that news might not be true?• While challenging, people are expected to notice differences in reliability under normal circumstances (non-crisis situations)HypothesesUncertainty words hypothesis: When news stories include uncertainty words, they are perceived as less reliableCrisis context hypothesis: Smaller effect of uncertainty words in crisis situations compared to normal situationsHigh	reliability	Low	reliability	Non-crisis	context	Crisis	context	No	uncertainty	words	Uncertainty	words	Unverified reportsReportsNo uncertaintyNormal (non-crisis) news context: high level of uncertainty = news perceived as less reliable, but no effect of medium uncertainty words 0.1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.91Ingen osäkerhetsmarkör Osäkerhetsmarkör Stark osäkerhetsmarkörNo uncertaintyUnverified reportsReportsTerrorist attack context• Also experimentally varied crisis context–Two treatments: crisis context–One treatment: non-crisis context (no terrorist attack story)• Truck bomb at Stockholm Central Station with several causalities and many woundedSupport for the crisis context hypothesis .5.55.6.65Tillförlitligheten i knivattacksnyhetenIngen terrornyhet Terrornyhet Terrornyhet (IS)Ingen osäkerhetsmarkör OsäkerhetsmarkörStark osäkerhetsmarkörSupport for the crisis context hypothesis .5.55.6.65Tillförlitligheten i knivattacksnyhetenIngen terrornyhet Terrornyhet Terrornyhet (IS)Ingen osäkerhetsmarkör OsäkerhetsmarkörStark osäkerhetsmarkörNOT SIGNIFICANTConclusion 1• In a normal (non-crisis) news environment...–Uncertain news are perceived as less reliable–However, uncertainty needs to be communicated very clearlyConclusion 2• In a crisis news environment...–People do not differentiate between levels of uncertainty–People are more skeptical of everything

Uncertainty in crisis news reporting

https://stars.library.ucf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1020&context=icrcc

Uncertainty in crisis news reporting

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University of Central Florida (UCF): STARS (Showcase of Text, Archives, Research & Scholarship)