Document Type : Research Article

Author

• Omid Vatandoost

M.A. in Islamic Studies, Culture and Communication, ISU

Abstract

A crisis is a low-probability, high-impact event that threatens the viability of the organization and has various social effects according to its dimensions. Crisis communication is the dialog between the organization and its public(s) prior to, during and after the negative occurrence. The dialog details strategies and tactics designed to minimize damage to the image of the organization. This research relies on theories such as apologia, image restoration, and situational crisis communication.
The samples of the research reported in this article are more than 500 tweets in Persian about two crisis events: The crumble of the Plasco building on June 19, 2016, and the ISIS operation to the Iranian parliament and Imam Khomeini’s shrine on June 7, 2017.
The method of doing this research is based on pragmatic paradigm, mixed methods tradition and eventually the deep content analysis. In order to do that, the MRP software could assist the researchers.
Consequently, the research found that the censorship of the information during the crisis can spread rumors. People were frustrated due to rumors within a week after each crisis. In contrast, the author has found that rapid news sharing and timely transmission of information can play a role, leading to the reduction of rumors.

Keywords

• crisis
• crisis communication
• crisis management
• Twitter
• Social media