AN EXPLORATION OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN EXTREME EVENTS: RUMOR THEORY AND TWITTER DURING THE HAITI EARTHQUAKE 2010

Abstract

Due to its rapid speed of information spread, wide user bases, and extreme mobility, Twitter is drawing attention as a potential emergency reporting tool under extreme events. However, at the same time, Twitter is sometimes despised as a citizen based non-professional social medium for propagating misinformation, rumors, and, in extreme case, propaganda. This study explores the working dynamics of rumor mill by analyzing Twitter data of Haiti Earthquake 2010. For this analysis, two key variables of anxiety and informational certainty are employed from rumor theory, and their interactive dynamics are measured by both quantitative and qualitative methods. Our research finds that certain information with credible sources contribute to suppress the level of anxiety in Twitter community, which leads to rumor controlling and high information quality.