Retweeting Risk Communication: The Role of Threat and Efficacy

Abstract

Social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook provide risk communicators with the opportunity to quickly reach their constituents at the time of an emerging infectious disease. On these platforms, messages gain exposure through message passing (called "sharing" on Facebook and "retweeting" on Twitter). This raises the question of how to optimize risk messages for diffusion across networks and, as a result, increase message exposure. In this study we add to this growing body of research by identifying message-level strategies to increase message passing during high-ambiguity events. In addition, we draw on the extended parallel process model to examine how threat and efficacy information influence the passing of Zika risk messages. In August 2016, we collected 1,409 Twitter messages about Zika sent by U.S. public health agencies' accounts. Using content analysis methods, we identified intrinsic message features and then analyzed the influence of those features, the account sending the message, the network surrounding the account, and the saliency of Zika as a topic, using negative binomial regression. The results suggest that severity and efficacy information increase how frequently messages get passed on to others. Drawing on the results of this study, previous research on message passing, and diffusion theories, we identify a framework for risk communication on social media. This framework includes four key variables that influence message passing and identifies a core set of message strategies, including message timing, to increase exposure to risk messages on social media during high-ambiguity events.

COVID-19: Retransmission of official communications in an emerging pandemic

“…We identified 690 accounts representing public health, emergency management, and elected officials (see Table 1 ). Public health accounts were identified by drawing on publicly available lists [ 16 ] and subsequent projects on social media risk messaging [ 9 , 17 ].…”

“…Keywords (see Table 1 ) were identified manually by reviewing a random sample of 100 tweets per day over the 90-day data collection period ( n = 9,000) to identify words or phrases commonly used by our targeted accounts to communicate about the pandemic and associated topics. We began by reviewing past work on message retransmission on Twitter in the context of acute threat and longitudinal risk communication to identify relevant thematic areas [ 3 , 9 ]. This work also includes fear appeals [ 20 , 21 ] with content themes around individual susceptibility and self efficacy , and the severity of the threat.…”

“…Based upon the findings of seven case studies, Vos et al [ 9 ] proposed the Risk Communication on Social Media (RCSM) model, which identifies key factors that influence message passing under conditions of acute threat. These factors include the design of message itself (including the contents and structural features), the characteristics of the account sending the message (such as organization type), the number of followers associated with the account, and the time during which the message was sent.…”

“…Results from previous studies [ 2 , 14 ] found that messages containing information about the severity of the threat and actionable information were shared at a higher rate than those that did not contain those contents. Additionally, messages containing media, such as an attached image, were also shared more often [ 9 ]. Some features that facilitate engagement, such as the inclusion of a URL or direct replies, were found to decrease message passing [ 3 ].…”

“…Informal online communication channels have the potential to serve as a platform for risk communication amplification and to facilitate engagement through dialog. Communication of timely risk information is absolutely vital for behavioral change to protect public health and safety; however, prior work on messaging in response to emerging health threats such as Zika [ 8 ] and Ebola [ 9 ] has shown that effective messaging strategies can depend upon details of the threat itself, while work on more conventional infrastructure-disrupting hazards such as fires and floods has likewise suggested that providing critical information regarding "hazard-adjacent" events such as closures, outages, and transportation interruptions can be vital for effective communication with the public [ 3 ]…”