Queensland urged to use TikTok and ‘trusted influencers’ to combat misinformation during natural disasters | Queensland

The Queensland authorities should consider using influencers – and fewer politicians – to better communicate with people during natural disasters, says that a study that revealed that there was a “critical need” to modernize emergency messages to counter disinformation on social networks.

Briefings in the event of a disaster have become a rite of passage for Queensland’s political leaders and are often considered a leadership test.

The researcher at the University of Griffith, Dr. Susan Grantham, in an article published in The Communication Review this month, analyzed government messaging, including press conferences and social networks, from two recent natural disasters: the jasper of the tropical cyclone in 2023, and the tropical kirrily cyclone in 2024.

Grantham’s analysis on public communication revealed the dependence on political figures for briefings in the event of a disaster during “critical security messages diluted, deploying attention to visibility rather than exploitable advice”.

“Briefings have often become congested with political messages, harming the delivery of critical security information,” said Grantham.

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“This imbalance risks public disengagement and reduces compliance with directives.

“Excessive political involvement in crisis communication can erode confidence and clarity, with broader governance comments eclipizing immediate security problems.”

At the same time, Grantham discovered that there was no government content on Tiktok during TC Jasper, and very limited content on the platform during TC Kirily.

The absence of official information has enabled the content generated by users to dominate. In some cases, this content included potentially dangerous messages or misleading messages that have contradicted formal advice.

The absence of “informal and engaging” content – as opposed to the highly structured and technical nature of public information sessions – meant that the government risked not reaching young people or losing control of the message.

“While traditional briefings effectively transmitted authority, the absence of government content on Tiktok during TC Jasper and the limited presence during TC Kirrily (only two videos of the Prime Minister) underlined a missed opportunity to modernize crisis communication.

“The absence of a coherent official presence of the government has enabled erroneous information and risky behavior to dominate.

“Government agencies must establish a presence on platforms like Tiktok to guide stories and counter real -time disinformation.

“There is a critical need for an integrated crisis communication strategy that balances the depth authorizing traditional media briefings with the immediacy and the participative potential of platforms like Tiktok.”

Grantham’s study revealed that the prominence of “content generated by users” on platforms like Tiktok meant that two local accounts with large following have become “key communicators” during crisis preparations.

Grantham suggested that governments “should consider official partnerships with trust influencers” which could amplify official messages on platforms like Tiktok for a younger demography.

“This approach would guarantee that precise and usable information is reaching a wider audience while thwarting the propagation of misleading information,” she said.

During the press conferences during the preparations for TC Jasper and TC Alfred, the authorities spoke of the influx of new residents in Queensland the importance of information reaching people who had not experienced cyclone before.

Grantham said rapid population growth would include many people for whom Tiktok was a main source of information.

“Consequently, there is a good chance that they are counting on social media platforms to obtain information, and on the basis of Tiktok trendy data analyzed in this study, this could have devastating effects.

“For example, a video was published by a woman who identified as a health agency and asked what she had to do as an essential worker according to the text alert she had received. This Tiktok data illustrates the confusion that can be felt by those who undergo disaster events for the first time.”