Risk Communication in an Age of Misinformation: Emergency Manager and Household Perspectives Pre- and Post-Disaster

The goal of this study is to produce risk communication strategies that align household preferences with emergency management practices before and after a hazard event in today’s era of misinformation. We will collaborate with EM professionals responsible for risk communication – local emergency managers and public information officers – across the study area to co-produce an updated risk communication guide. The study area encompasses communities within the 18 counties, from Orange to Cameron County, along the entire Texas coast. Information collected in the study area from EM professionals as well as the public and the media will be used to evaluate how household information use, preferences, attitudes (e.g., trust), and needs align with EM risk communication practices. Survey experiments will test the effectiveness of various risk messaging across different information channels, including social media, and on compliance with protective action recommendations. This will provide an evidence base to update and refine EM risk communication strategies so that the best language and channels are used to convey risk messages while building trust in EM communications and debunking misinformation.