• Social media misinformation complicating public preparedness 

The Disaster Management Centre (DMC) has raised concerns over poor public compliance with technical disaster warnings, despite procedural challenges faced by the Centre in gathering data, and called on academia to help devise more effective methods of public outreach.

Speaking at a press conference held at the University of Kelaniya yesterday (11), DMC Director of Preparedness Planning Chathura Liyanarachchi said that although a system is in place to issue notices and warnings at the earliest possible stage, there is a persistent issue of the public failing to act on such information.

He also noted a growing tendency among the public to question the technical data issued by the Centre.

“For instance, when we give the notice to stay alert, they complain and ask, what does it mean to stay alert during a flood?” he said.

He added that research findings from academics in the humanities are urgently needed to develop solutions for communicating disaster-related information more effectively to the public.

Also addressing the conference, Meteorology Department Director General Ajith Wijemannage explained how a gap has developed between institutions that provide technical data and the general public, and how this gap has contributed to the continued spread of misinformation.

“We’re not the most effective at communicating the data to the public as the data is more technical. But, we have seen occasions where other parties try to make the public aware on social media platforms in a very attractive manner,” he said.

He cited the example of a well-known geography tutor who publishes videos almost daily and explains the El Niño phenomenon in an engaging manner.

“He is explaining the El Niño phenomenon in a very attractive way, so people like it. But, the data that he is providing is utterly wrong, as the data is based on very surface-level data and a limited understanding. But, the issue is that the public believes them, not us,” he said.

Both officials urged the public to rely on data issued by reliable authorities rather than social media figures or randomly shared information on social media during disasters and when preparing for potential disasters.

They also noted that the surge in social media has resulted in an abundance of information, making it crucial for the public to verify the accuracy of information received.

“You can always double-check data on social media with the authorities,” Liyanarachchi added.