Crisis Communication on Twitter: A Social Network Analysis of Christchurch Terrorist Attack in 2019

Abstract

Christchurch terrorist attack is a recent tragedy that happened in New Zealand on 15 March 2019. There are total 50 deaths caused by the attack in Christchurch. In two days, at least, 722,295 tweets are created by users of Twitter, they tweet about their thoughts and prayers about the attack. That means that social media is very important to spread information throughout the world while in a crisis condition, which also able to provide and facilitate how the information flow. To understand the issue, this paper examines the use of Twitter during post-tragedy, which is 2 days after the tragedy happened in New Zealand. The network structures within the conversation about Christchurch attack must be concerned, because many communities and actors play a part in the flow of information about the attack on Twitter. Our findings show an individual might have more information-spreading power than authority or government institutions. The influence of non-authority actors in Twitter network highlights an apparent reality that an individual might be spread information wider than authority without knowing the righteousness.