Credibility Of Social Media Information: Social Media As Crisis Platform And SMCC Model

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Chapter 1: Introduction

Background of study

Social media is the digital tools and application that allow the user to communicate with others (Lucinda Austin, 2012). Social media also enable ones to get information from online. Online resources can be ideal for timely communication and interaction with the audience (Lucinda Austin, 2012). People tend to use social media as a multipurpose. For the example, a student using social media to collect information for the purpose of doing the assignment. Social media can bond and strengthen the relationship between each other no matter how far the distance is (Sheil, Violanti, and Slusarski, 2011).

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The online mobile communication and social media is an integral part of daily life (Szymczak et al.

, 2016). The social media user often used social media in ways that go beyond in everyday tasks. For example in crisis situations such as floods, hurricanes and terrorist attacks (Szymczak et al., 2016). When the crisis happens, social media user uses Facebook to exchange information in a disaster such as floods or hurricanes as a means of social support after such events (Szymczak et al., 2016).

Not all the information from social media is true although the social media is convenient and fast to get the information. Notwithstanding, as data through these channels isn't subjected to media guardians or journalistic investigation, clients need to decide the believability of the sender and the substance themselves (van Zoonen and van der Meer, 2015).

In spite of the fact that in conventional media the sources and data are kept an eye on veracity, along these lines guaranteeing some degree of the source and data validity, this procedure is missing via web-based networking media (Van Zoonen and van der Meer, 2015). Individuals utilize whatever data a channel gives to make judgments about others, therefore including the wellsprings of the conveyed content. Research on online data handling proposes that individuals infrequently check online data and utilize confirmation techniques that require less time and mental exertion, for example, source data (van Zoonen and van der Meer, 2015).

One of the most attractive social media can attract many people to using is free of charge. The social media such as WhatsApp, Facebook, WeChat and others have the function such as video call, voice call, recording video and others. The social media users can send a variety of pictures, video, and files to others. It is different with the call plan of the mobile telephony services provided. For the example, although the U-mobile had provided an unlimited call plan the user still needs to pay for the services for every month. Every call has a limited length in one hours only. It means that after one hour the call will automatically hang up. The way social media user use to strengthen the relationship with others was most of them likes, share or comments under the post other postings. This interaction is good to be practice (Sheil, Violanti, and Slusarski, 2011). The social media play a vital role in influencing public responses to terrorism and other disasters (Leykin, Aharonson-Daniel, and Lahad, 2016).

The crisis events face by many companies and the crisis is defined as an unexpected event that can threaten the organization's goals, viability and the social legitimacy (Kim, Marina Choi, and Atkinson, 2017). According to the combs, the threat of the crisis can minimize the company reputation through the appropriate and effective strategy (Kim, Marina Choi, and Atkinson, 2017). The crisis is unpredictable. Crisis happens will damage a corporate reputation no matter how the company size is. When the company face crisis, social media users will spread the messages widely. Consumer express their voice in social media and this will directly affect a company reputation because of the bad news spread rapidly on online (Kim, Park, Cha, and Jeong, 2015). The company may take a long time to rebuild their reputation and customer trust (Kim, Park, Cha, and Jeong, 2015). People tend to read blogs when a crisis happens, in this kind of case the public is more credibility to the blogs crisis report if compare with the traditional mass media (Liu et al., 2012).

Situational crisis communication theory (SCCT) offers crisis response strategies such as denial, diminish, and deal (Chung and Lee, 2016). Situational crisis communication theory (SCCT) attempts to map how crisis response strategies are used to protect reputational assets. SCCT include theory and divided into crisis, response strategies, and recommendation. According to Sturges (1994), crisis communication strategies can be categorized into three wide field which is instructing information that explains what happened to help people to protect themselves physically in a crisis, adjust the information that enables people to psychologically cope with a crisis and the reputation repair allows an organization to protect their reputation through delivery of messages (Chung and Lee, 2016).

Problem statement

Today, many users use social media for multipurpose such as exhibition, business, get news and information from social media (Lucinda Austin, 2012). Sometimes, social media is also not entirely good for people. For a company position, in which a company faces a crisis, people will comment a lot of negative comment on the company official web pages (Kim, Park, Cha, and Jeong, 2015). In this situation in which the company fails to solve the social media crisis communication, the issues will become a crisis. The negative news will spread widely and spread to other areas (Oliveira, 2013). Sometimes, it's not uncommon for a large company to have to deal with a social media crisis, and some people are better equipped than others to deal with it (Oliveira, 2013). Crisis communication strategies is a continuum from defense to adaptation. People like to spread negative and misinformation online. We can't control people to stop spread the information, misinformation occurs and people anger (Kim, Park, Cha, and Jeong, 2015). Sometimes, social media can be a tool when a crisis happens. Social media users tend to respond to the social media in a crisis (Leykin, Aharonson-Daniel, and Lahad, 2016). The problem statement of this research is to study the credibility of the social media information and the role of social media as a crisis platform in the crisis.

1.3 Research question

The research question of the research is to guide the study which the user perception and affective responses on social media crisis. If the company fail to solve the social media crisis communication the issues will become a crisis. This study seeks to add depth to our understanding of:

RQ1: How do people exam the credibility of the social media information?

RQ2: How the user perceives the use of social media in the time of crisis?

RQ3: Why the social media can be a crisis platform?

1.4 Research objective

The research objectives are:

- To study how the social media platform is used and perceived by the social media user.

- To investigate the credibility of the social media information.

1.5 Significance:

The social media crisis is unpredictable, it likely starts with small messages and the messages spread to a global scale. Thus, this will lead to a devastating consequence to a company at risk (Kim, Park, Cha, and Jeong, 2015). In the recent years, the social media had played an important role in crisis communication and management.

Moreover, social media had become a basic need for communication when a disaster happens. In the past few years, the social media has changed the field of communication so crisis communication is undergoing substantial changes (Leykin, Aharonson-Daniel, and Lahad, 2016). Social media as an ultimate space for crisis communication process (Leykin, Aharonson-Daniel, and Lahad, 2016).

The model that used to address how crisis can spread across social media is using social mediated communication (SMCC) (Lucinda Austin, 2012). This model further describes how information is transmitted directly or indirectly by social media (Lucinda Austin, 2012). In addition, crisis information spreads directly between traditional media and social media. As in SMCC model conceptualization, the source of information is the source of crisis information, either through the crisis of organization, or a third party, such as power social media creator or journalists (Lucinda Austin, 2012).

The research is needed because good practice needs to be established to help the government and decision maker in optimizing the risk and crisis (Leykin, Aharonson-Daniel, and Lahad, 2016). The research is important to study the credibility of the social information. After the research conducted, the research can contribute to the particular group to create an organization website on social media, which can help in update information when the crisis happen. The research also can contribute to the society about the social media can be an effective tool to help during crisis happen.

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Social media and the user

Social media has many kinds of useful for the people. Through virtual communities, consumers extend their social networks to people they have never met and regularly seek their views on products and services (Lucinda Austin, 2012). In addition, the young generation used the social media depend on their demand for contact, and their needs for self- expression and utilitarian purpose (Lucinda Austin, 2012).

Todays, many social media users use social media for the purpose of online business. Online life stages offer an open door for clients to interface with different shoppers; along these lines, organizations are never again the sole wellspring of brand correspondence (Schivinski and Dabrowski, 2016). Long range informal communication through online media can be comprehended as an assortment of advanced wellsprings of data that are made, started, flowed, and devoured by Internet clients as an approach to teach each other about items, brands, administrations, identities and issues (Schivinski and Dabrowski, 2016). By using social media, the sellers can save money and time. Sellers no need to pay for the rental, electronic and water billing, insurance and others. The working hour is flexible because they no need to stay in the shop and they can reply the customer order through social media. The social media crisis is unpredictable, it is likely to start with small messages and the messages spread to a global scale. Thus, this will lead to a devastating consequence to a company at risk (Kim, Park, Cha, and Jeong, 2015).

Now and again, the spread of data might be as gossip, which is an aggregate exchange in which numerous individuals offer, assess, translate data, and from which they anticipate something (Stieglitz and Dang-Xuan, 2013). Research on passionate infection has demonstrated that feelings may spread through various types of informal organizations in different settings, for example, between individuals in visit close contact, for example, families amid working environment cooperation or in authority circumstances (Stieglitz and Dang-Xuan, 2013).

2.2 Social media as a crisis platform.

Social media can be a tool in the crisis. It is because people find information through social media (Kim, Park, Cha, and Jeong, 2015). Web-based life, for example, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, FourSquare, YouTube, Flickr, and Pinterest, have turned out to be great devices for a joint effort, sharing, and support of people, communities, and the media amid crises (Sheil, Violanti, and Slusarski, 2011). When people are in a disaster, they get information from there. Although it may consist of misinformation which spread by others (Kim, Park, Cha, and Jeong, 2015).

In reality, online networking is sorts of social programming, which utilize very intuitive innovations to empower the trading of client created substance and the formation of a decentralized data space (Tagliacozzo and Arcidiacono, 2016). In that capacity, they are progressively getting to be pertinent as stages to accomplish self-strengthening through proceeded with distributed communication. Writing on the utilization of web-based social networking as a participatory and enabling device amid debacle recreation remains unfathomably rare, however (Tagliacozzo and Arcidiacono, 2016). Take the tweeting Supertyphoon Haiyan as an example. Twitter has a function of monitoring and disaster when the crisis happens (David, Ong and Legara, 2016). The features of Twitter is hyperlinking, real-time posting, short-burst messages style in 140 characters and forwarding the messages to their follower (David, Ong and Legara, 2016).

2.3 Social mediated crisis communication model

The social-mediated crisis communication (SMCC) model describes the interaction between organizations in crisis and three kinds of public, who produce and consume information during and after the crisis which is social media content creators, social media follower, and social media inactive (Lucinda Austin, 2012). The social-mediated crisis communication model (SMCC) outlines the process of public consumer sharing of crisis-related social media information of an organization (Gurman and Ellenberger, 2015). In addition, the social-mediated crisis communication model (SMCC) had suggested that social media works with traditional mass media and word of mouth marketing to reach the largest number of individuals with crisis communication information (Gurman and Ellenberger, 2015). Social mediated crisis communication model (SMCC) can help the organization develop a comprehensive crisis communication strategy (Gurman and Ellenberger, 2015).

Liu, Austin, and Jin had applied social-mediated crisis communication model in their research. The SMCC model demonstrate expands on the exploratory investigations of the significance of different data channels and in addition different sources regarding emergency correspondence exercises (Eriksson and Olsson, 2016). The research is to comprehend why and how publics convey about emergencies (Liu, Jin, and Austin, 2013). The model is used to depict the collaboration between an association encountering an emergency and three sorts of publics who create and devour emergency data by means of SM, TM, and disconnected WOM correspondence (Liu, Jin and Austin, 2013). The SMCC show likewise recognizes online WOM correspondence and disconnected WOM correspondence. Online WOM correspondence incorporates the emergency data delivered by powerful SM makers and expanded specifically and in a roundabout way by SM supporters and SM inactive (Liu, Jin, and Austin, 2013).

Chapter 3: Methodology

3.0 Research Design

We had chosen the qualitative research method to study the research. The qualitative research method is focused on to describe the individual experiences and belief (Gill, Stewart, Treasure, and Chadwick, 2008). The qualitative research method will be using it is because the qualitative research method is provided the open-ended question, it enables the participants to answer with their own word and opinion (Gill, Stewart, Treasure, and Chadwick, 2008). Participant-generated more answer for the research. For instance, the qualitative approach that we use for the research is an in-depth interview. The in-depth interview is carried out face to face so that a compatibility can be made with respondents. The interview style depends on the interviewer (Gill, Stewart, Treasure, and Chadwick, 2008). The design of the interview protocol will be a semi-structured interview, this is because it is an asymmetrical structure. The question can be asked without following the interview protocol, the question can be changed and rearranged anytime. Besides, if the researcher needs to additionally comprehend the participant's answer, the question can be to develop the first original question.

3.2 Sampling Technique

The sampling technique which uses in the research is a sampling technique. In this method, sampling units are chosen for the purpose. Purposive inspecting gives a one-sided gauge and it isn't measurably perceived. This strategy can be utilized just for some particular purposes (Singh and Masuku, 2014). The criteria of the research are the social media user must be UTAR student that is conducting and had the experience of the current crisis. The UTAR student who had experience with using social media response in the crisis. The size of the informant will be roughly around 5 to 20 informants. We set that data saturation had generally happened when we had investigated twelve participants (Guest, Bunce, & Johnson, 2006). After twelve participant, we had made 92% (100) of the aggregate number of codes produced for each of the thirty of the Ghanaian transcripts (109) and 88% (114) of the aggregate number of codes created crosswise over two nations and sixty participants (Guest, Bunce, & Johnson, 2006). The interview will end until no more news answer to provide. Furthermore, the interview also will end in the situation the researcher thinks that the answer which provides by the participants is almost similar.

3.3 Data collection

The in-depth interview data will be collected through procedures. First, we will email to UTAR to get the permission for the purpose of research. The second step is we will go block K to invite the student with experience for the purpose of the interview. The interview may take a few minutes to complete. After the interview finish, we collected the data and start the analysis. The interview protocol will ask about the question that related to the research conduct such as what is the recent crisis that you had involved and what is the happened about. What is the position of the interviewee?

Before we start the interview session, participants ought to be educated about the investigation points of interest and given affirmation about moral standards, for example, secrecy and privacy. This gives respondents some thought of what's in store from the meeting, improves the probability of genuineness and is additionally a major part of the educated assent process (Gill, Stewart, Treasure, and Chadwick, 2008). The researcher will ask the interviewer ten open-ended questions with additional probes related to the research questions (Gill, Stewart, Treasure, and Chadwick, 2008). The participants are asked to describe the crisis they had an encounter, how they initially catch wind of the emergency and what they had gain from the crisis. The answer will be recorded by using note, video and voice recording. The reason we choose in-depth interview method is this method provide a relaxed atmosphere when collecting the data. The participants will feel more comfortable when having an interview session with you (Gill, Stewart, Treasure, and Chadwick, 2008).

3.4 Data Analysis

Qualitative data, for the most part, should be in textual form before analysis (Gale, Heath, Cameron, Rashid, and Redwood, 2013). These texts can either be evoked texts or surviving texts or can be delivered by translating interview data or making 'field' notes while leading member perception or observing objects or social circumstances (Gale, Heath, Cameron, Rashid, and Redwood, 2013). The thematic analysis will be transcript into words and code it to keep for the record. The researcher will observe the non-verbal reaction of the participant in the interview. The non-verbal reaction such as scratching head, hand gestures, the voice they talk, ‘mmm…' and so on will also be recorded. The answer given by the participants will be code and sort into the category with a specific to make the data simpler to be analyzed.