Twitter as a Risk Communication Tool: Lessons Learned from South Africa during Covid-19

Background and Purpose: A risk communication strategy was one of the tools that the National Government used to manage the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. Twitter was part of the risk communication strategy as it could provide accurate information to a large audience in real-time. However, there are risks associated with such a strategy, including misinformation and an overload of information for the Twitter user. The aim of the study was to investigate how the National Government of South Africa used Twitter in the risk communication strategy and what lessons can be learned to respond to future pandemics more effectively and efficiently.

Methods: A structured literature review was used to collect 15 articles that focused on risk management strategies during emergency times.

Results: The research found that the challenges associated with using Twitter during Covid-19 as a risk management strategy included an infodemic, misinformation, lack of authoritative spokesperson and lack of technology to access the social media platform. Lessons learned from the efforts of the South African Government to use Twitter in the risk communication strategy included evaluation of information that is placed on Twitter through association of international organisations that provide best practices and education of the public on how to utilize social media and health information during a pandemic.

Conclusions: The recommendation of the research is that Twitter is beneficial in a risk communication strategy, but the issues of misinformation and information overload must be addressed to make it an efficient and effective tool.