Communicating radiation emergencies on social media

This article examines the challenges and benefits of social media use for communicating radiation emergencies and malicious events. As traditional crisis communication principles have to adapt to the evolving social media landscape, this article emphasises the need for communicators to keep pace with platforms such as X, WhatsApp, and TikTok. Challenges include inconsistent messages, conflicting information, and the risk of misinformation spreading. However, social media offers advantages such as rapid information dissemination and increased visibility for communicating authorities. The discussion draws from case studies, including the Fukushima Daiichi accident, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the lost radioactive capsule in Australia, highlighting the necessity for adaptable crisis communication strategies in response to situational contexts and changes in online communication. Future work involves analysing past incidents, developing recommendations for effective social media use, and designing social media templates for timely messaging during radiation emergencies within the framework of ICRP Task Group 120.