In relation to an organization’s issues management and crisis communication activities, what are the positive and negative aspects of social media? Illustrate your response with an example of an organization that has been either helped or harmed by social media during a crisis.

What will be an ideal response?

From an issues management and crisis communication perspective, social media can be both a positive and a negative force, as well as an early warning system, if it is monitored on a real-time basis. The positive side of social media is that it enables companies and organizations in precrisis, crisis, or recovery mode to have direct access to target audience(s) and deliver real-time updates without a time lag, bias, or filter by the media. On the negative side, a company in a crisis does not have control of the information that is being circulated online. As well, there is usually no gatekeeper who verifies the information that is being posted about the crisis or any comments on the way it is being handled.