“There is a Damn Hello on the Social Media!” Insights into Public Risk Communication in the Digital Age

The ability to handle threats, such as disinformation, manipulation of public opinion, and disruption of critical supplies, is becoming increasingly important, thus, necessitating, among other strategies, efforts to establish a proper risk communication to the public. This paper addresses the need for more empirical research in this area to contribute to the development of an in-depth understanding of public risk communication that includes information-related threats and cyber issues. The study involves officials of three public organizations entrusted with safety and security in society: the police, the rescue service, and the county administrative board of a county in the middle of Sweden. The results detail the recognition of risks to be communicated, the organization of the communication process, the messages that these actors seek to bring forth, and to whom as well as challenges of public risk communication in the digital era. The findings indicate that information-related and cyber risks are increasingly essential to consider as an additional layer of public communication. Two implications emerged as particularly important: (1) all communication about risks and crises must consider the systemic risk of mis- and disinformation, and (2) tailored communication about the risks interrelated with disinformation should use human-centered, dialogue-based, and moderated approaches. Further research can focus on associated challenges, considering the distribution of responsibilities, inter-organizational information sharing and cooperation, and the possibly stochastic effects on critical (information) infrastructures and, ultimately, societal values.