One of the problems we see consistently in disaster operations is that of bad information being passed informally as rumors. This is particularly problematic in this era of immediate electronic communications. Rumors spread rapidly via tweets and social media pages.
We have traditionally dealt with this by having a "rumor control" function within our public information group that monitored news broadcasts and put out corrected information via the news services. However, the times are a'changing and our rumor control staff have a lot more to monitor than just news broadcasts and more ways to quickly correct misinformation.
FEMA is doing some interesting things to deal with this problem in the Sandy relief operation. In addition to the normal media channels, they are providing information directly to the public via a website designed specifically to correct bad information. Rumors are posted on the website with the correct information and links to either more information or relief services.
The page also offers the reader the opportunity to follow FEMA through a variety of social media sites where they can get current information.
This combination of traditional news releases, social media and a website certainly broadens the dissemination of information and goes a long way towards correcting bad information. Having a website pre-prepared that can be updated and made live during a crisis is concept that has been around for awhile but for some reason does not seem to be used as much as you would expect. If you haven't considered adding this to your crisis management tool box, maybe you should do so now. It's simple, cheap and effective and will definitely speed up your crisis communications.
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