GRF · Information Integrity and Public Trust
Crisis information
In a disaster, conflict or health emergency, accurate information is a matter of safety. Networks fail, rumours spread, and authorities, media and communities compete to be heard. Crisis information governance decides who informs, through which channels, and how false claims are handled without suppressing legitimate questions. This page sets out how crisis information holds or fails, the records that show it, and who decides.
Crisis information in seven parts.
- 01The questionCrisis information: how the risk develops
- 02IndicatorsWhat is measured, and how well
- 03SourcesWhere the evidence comes from
- 04DecisionsWho decides, and what the evidence serves
- 05Core questionsWhat experts ask
- 06Mechanisms and driversInformation vacuums and trusted voices
- 07Methods and dataHow the evidence is built, and where it stops
Crisis information: how the risk develops.
Warnings, risk communication and trust. The dossier below sets out how the risk develops, what is measured, where the data come from, how it is modelled and who decides.
Channels fail with infrastructure
Power cuts and damaged networks silence online channels when they are most needed. Radio, loudspeakers and community networks become the main routes.
Rumours outrun facts
Early in a crisis, facts are scarce and demand for information is high. Rumours fill the gap and can drive harmful behaviour before authority information arrives.
Affected people are not consulted
Information designed without asking affected people misses their questions and languages. Feedback mechanisms let responders hear what people need to know.
Shutdowns and restrictions
Governments sometimes restrict internet access or reporting during crises. These measures cut off safety information and documentation of events.
Narrative monitor.
The screen a team would use to follow this subject: its measures, states and decisions. Names are examples and values are illustrative.
Narrative monitor
Crisis information · Crisis information cell · Week 30
Narratives
| Tap water poisoned after flood | 77 | High | False | Correction out |
| Shelters charging fees | 57 | Medium | False | Drafting |
| Dam about to fail | 77 | High | Checking | Holding line |
| Aid only for registered voters | 40 | Medium | False | Prebunked |
Spread
Response protocol
- Detectmonitor
- Verifyprovenance
- Assess harmthreshold
- Respondcorrect · prebunk
- Reporttransparency
What is measured, and how well.
Each indicator carries its unit, its cadence, the kind of source behind it and the evidence label a value would carry. No values are shown: a programme supplies them under its own authority.
| Indicator | Unit | Cadence | Source type | Label |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Internet shutdowns during crises | count and duration in hours | annual | Shutdown monitoring | REPORTED |
| Community feedback mechanisms in humanitarian responses | yes or no, by response | per response | Response records | REPORTED |
| Languages used in crisis messaging | count | per event | Message archives | OBSERVED |
| Journalists killed or detained in crisis zones | count | annual | Press freedom organisations | REPORTED |
| Rumours logged and addressed by responders | count | per response | Rumour tracking records | REPORTED |
| Access to radio among affected populations | share of households | per assessment | Needs assessments | ESTIMATED |
How crisis information is governed: instruments, mandates and commitments.
The instruments, mandates, actors and accountability arrangements a policymaker, diplomat or development agency works with, citing the agreements that set them. Structures follow the frameworks named. Any state or progress drawn is illustrative, not a record.
Accountability cycle
How commitments on crisis information are held to account, from commitment to correction.
- CommitGovernmentA commitment with a mandate and a legal basis.
- PlanLead agencyA national plan with owners and milestones.
- ResourceMinistry of financeA budget line or financing on record.
- ImplementAgencies and local governmentDelivery against the plan.
- ReportStatistics officeIndicators reported in agreed definitions.
- ReviewLegislature, audit, civil societyIndependent review of results and gaps.
- CorrectGovernmentChanges to the plan, published with reasons.
Where the evidence comes from.
Named public datasets and institutional records, each with its licence class. Sources by agreement are used only under their terms and never republished.
| Source | What it gives | Licence class |
|---|---|---|
| Access Now KeepItOn data | Documented internet shutdowns | Free to read, terms to check |
| Committee to Protect Journalists databases | Journalists killed and imprisoned | Free to read, terms to check |
| CDAC Network resources | Communication and community engagement in humanitarian response | Free to read, terms to check |
| Internews rumour tracking methodology and reports | Rumour tracking in humanitarian settings | Free to read, terms to check |
| ReliefWeb | Situation reports including communication needs | Free, OCHA terms; content terms per author |
Who decides, and what the evidence serves.
Information Integrity and Public Trust prepares evidence. The decisions below are taken by the authorities named, under their own rules, and never by the platform.
| Who decides | The question | Evidence this page serves |
|---|---|---|
| Emergency management and humanitarian agencies | How to assess and meet information needs | Feedback and rumour tracking practice |
| Governments and telecom regulators | Whether to restrict networks or reporting in a crisis | Evidence on effects of shutdowns and human rights standards |
| Broadcasters and local media | How to keep information flowing in a crisis | Crisis broadcasting practice |
| Platforms | How to surface authoritative information in a crisis | Crisis protocol practice and evaluations |
Outputs this topic produces
- Guide to rumour tracking and community feedback in crises
- Comparative notes on crisis information channels when networks fail
- Dialogue briefs on shutdowns and safety information
- Questions for responders on information needs assessment
What experts ask.
Crisis communication researchers ask how information can protect people when stakes are highest.
- How quickly and through which channels do people receive crisis information, and who is missed?
- How should authorities communicate uncertainty that is changing rapidly?
- Why do rumours spread in crises, and how can information gaps be filled quickly?
- How do pre-existing trust and relationships affect crisis communication?
- How are multiple voices, from agencies, media and communities, coordinated without contradiction?
Information vacuums and trusted voices.
In the early stages of a crisis, demand for information exceeds supply. When authority information is slow, inconsistent or absent, people turn to informal sources and rumours fill the gap. Social science research shows that people seek confirmation from family, peers and local sources before acting on warnings, and that consistent messages from multiple trusted sources increase protective action.
Communicating uncertainty is a central challenge. Authorities may fear that admitting uncertainty will cause panic or undermine authority, but evidence suggests that honest acknowledgement, with clear explanation of what is known and what is being done, tends to maintain trust better than false certainty that later proves wrong.
Why now: the first hours of a crisis are when false and contradictory messages do most harm. The platform is designed to exercise crisis information arrangements in Universe with contained injects, and to record whether accurate information reached the people at risk; simulated messages never reach the public.
How the evidence is built, and where it stops.
- 01
Post-crisis studies
Surveys and interviews on how people received and used information, with social and behavioural science. Recall is imperfect.
- 02
Social media monitoring
Tracking rumours and information needs in real time using machine learning. Raises privacy and representativeness concerns.
- 03
Message testing
Testing message clarity and effect before crises. Conditions differ in real events.
- 04
Comparative case analysis
Comparing communication across crises. Context shapes outcomes.
How it is studied, and what the methods cannot say.
- 01Social and behavioural scienceMeasuring trust and exposure · Testing interventions · Qualitative study of information needsApplied here
- 02Network science and contagionDetecting coordinated behaviour · Tracing narrative spread · Mapping media ecosystemsApplied here
- 03Artificial intelligence and machine learningClassifier error in moderation · Synthetic media detection limits · Recommender auditsApplied here
Questions and answers.
What is rumour tracking?
Why do internet shutdowns matter in crises?
What is communicating with communities?
Should authorities admit uncertainty in a crisis?
Why do rumours spread in emergencies?
Is crisis information integrity a Universe theme?
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