Can Social Media Be a Force for Good in a Crisis?

In times of crisis, it is especially crucial that governments share accurate, up-to-date information with their citizens. Social media can play an important role in disseminating urgent information, writes Camaren Peter and Tolullah Oni for The Conversation.

Social media platforms can also be used to share critically important information about disaster management and it's a powerful tool for authorities to tackle misinformation and disinformation that may arise. The Covid-19 pandemic has particularly highlighted how vulnerable densely populated cities and urban areas are in responding to and navigating disasters and emergencies.

Camaren Peter and Tolullah Oni set out to assess the role that social media played in driving public engagement with Covid-19 health measures in Lagos, Nigeria. They analyzed public engagement on Twitter between January and August 2020 that related to the city's lockdown protocols.

Their key findings were that the public responded most to public health information being shared by prominent individual social media influencers. These included sportspeople, comedians, musicians, and businesspeople. It was also clear that people responded most positively to the use of satire, humor, and messaging that drew on influencers' everyday lived experiences of the lockdown.

A number of social media influencers were actively disseminating public health information online of their own accord, with no clear link to Nigeria's health authorities beyond as a source of some information.