Pandemic Rhetoric, Trust and Social Media: Risk Communication Strategies and Public Reactions in a Changing Media Landscape (PAR-TS)

Tillit betinges av blant annet historisk erfaring og leverte resultater. Men også måten myndighetene kommuniserer på er sentral. Folk vurderer både kompetanse, karakter og myndighetenes motiver. Koronapandemien satte befolkningens tillit til helsemyndighetene på prøve. Hva ble utfallet? Flere spørreundersøkelser gjennom pandemien har vist at denne tilliten holdt seg relativt sett høy. Den høye tilliten til helsemyndighetene kan henge sammen med de relativt lave dødstallene og den brede politiske støtten til smitteverntiltak. Men kommunikasjon og troverdighet spiller også en rolle i denne sammenhengen. Det har vært viktig for helsemyndighetene å framstå med kunnskap, samtidig som de har innrømmet usikkerhet. Forskningsprosjektet «Pandemiretorikk, tillit og sosiale medier» (PAR-TS) har blant annet undersøkt hvordan helsemyndighetene håndterte kritikk av sin kompetanse, hvordan Twitter-brukere diskuterte myndighetenes troverdighet, samt hvilken effekt usikkerhetskommunikasjon har.

Based on the research of PAR-TS, implications for future risk and crisis communication strategies in pandemic outbreaks can be formulated. This relates to, for instance, how the public health authorities can meet criticism from medical experts; how uncertainty communication works, how to understand negotiations of trustworthiness, and what the drivers are for behavior in a pandemic. Having the Norwegian Institute of Public Health as a partner in the project, increases the potential uptake of the research findings.

PAR-TS will study 1) the current communication strategies of public health authorities, 2) the role of social media in the crisis; 3) reactions in the public in terms of trust (institutional, social, media), fear and behavioral change, and, finally, 4) potential risk/crisis communication strategies for future pandemic outbreaks. A cross-disciplinary team drawing on political science, media and communication studies, data science, health and civil society studies is put together. The project is based in three academic institutions – Dep. of Media and Communication (IMK), the Institute for Social Research (ISF), and SINTEF – in close collaboration with three key institutions in informing the public – the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH), the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK), and the Association of Norwegian Editors (NR). In addition, two market research companies – Opinion and Kantar – are partners. Focusing on Norway as an empirical case, PAR-TS lays the ground for future comparative studies through the close interaction with a strong network of international scholars participating in an advisory board. PAR-TS pulls together strong methodological expertise that is necessary to address the negotiations of trust between public authorities and citizens. Communication strategies are studied through interviews with communication personnel in the public health institutions and textual analysis of public communication. For the study of interactions in social media, a large scale quantitative and qualitative analysis will be conducted of discussions about corona and the health authorities’ handling of the crisis. Finally, population-based representative surveys before, during and after the crisis will enable the study of how citizens receive and act on information, centered on the roles of different types trust. The produced knowledge in PAR-TS will strengthen preparedness and handling of future risks and crisis.