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Cautious Communications Paramount for US Relief Efforts in Chile
In the wake of Latin America's second major earthquake in two months, those directing US relief efforts in Chile must plan carefully to avoid, and counter, negative messages in the social media environment. Although Chile is governed by center-left President Michelle Bachelet and conservative candidate Sebastian Pinera was recently elected as her successor, Chileans are no less susceptible to conspiracy theories about the US' role in the region than their counterparts in Venezuela and Bolivia.As seen during the humanitarian response to the earthquake in Haiti, some will undoubtedly claim the US military's alleged utilization of an experimental "climate weapon" is to blame for the successive earthquakes in the region, with the further assertion that the US will use the guise of disaster response to occupy Chile. Scores of bloggers, as well as Twitter and web forum users, propagated a report by Russia's Northern Fleet from 20-21 January that said the US Navy caused the earthquake in Haiti during a test of its High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP). Spanish print outlet ABC had reported that Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez believed the US was behind the disaster in Haiti, and the story spread like wildfire in the Spanish-language blogosphere. The traction of this conspiracy among Chileans at the time was evidenced by the promotion of a YouTube video by Chilean TV presenter Juan Andres Salfate (aka "Salfate") soon after Haiti's earthquake in January. Providing a highly sensationalized "scientific" explanation of the US' use of HAARP, Salfate generated a large volume of social media conversations within alternative online news sources and person-to-person networks. This and other conspiracy theories have spread at a viral level among social media users, who, in Chile, are a large segment of the population. According to USA Today and comScore, Chile "ranks fourth worldwide in terms of social networking penetration among its home and work Internet audience." As a result, Chileans are even more likely than Haitians to use social networks and interactive media to share localized information in the aftermath of their respective earthquake.
Much as in Haiti, historic US intervention in Chile does not lend itself to positively-received humanitarian aid, whether from the US military or other sources. Already, Chilean visitors to alternative media sites have begun to express fear and suspicion regarding the quake. Visitors to the site antidoto-conciencia.blogspot.com, who previously gave credence to TV presenter Salfate's view of US involvement in the Haiti earthquake in late January, posted the following opinions to the site's guest book:
27 FEB 10, 16:23
coorbats: ... there was an 8.2 earthquake... Spanish and North American leaders are going to come see the situation... they might do the same as with Haiti... I don't want Hylari [sic] Clinton to come
27 FEB 10, 17:38
penagos: ufff I just learned of the earthquake.....s**t, it's so soon after the one in Haiti... could it be that these s.o.b.s already interfered or that it is an aftershock of the Haiti earthquake... s**t
28 FEB 10, 16:53
coorbats: the infrastructure that was destroyed was too old ... my grandmother disappeared ... the highways are destroyed. bridges etc. The leaders want to take over our copper ... Salfate said that this would happen this year
In this early stage after the seismic event, the social media environment is ripe for engagement, both to pave the way for a successful humanitarian relief effort and to stem the tide of rumors that could damage the US' image. Pouring aid into Chile without the strategic communications that should forerun any response from Washington could undermine the original intent of using US tax dollars to foster goodwill in Latin America. US officials will only stand a chance of drowning out negative influential communicators if they respond speedily to online criticisms, with messages crafted to show Chilean audiences that the conspiracy theories are baseless. For example, an online and televised explanation of plate tectonics from a respected Chilean scientist could go a long way towards debunking negative blogs, Tweets, and general distrust of US motives for involvement in Latin America. To summarize, messaging campaigns that do not take the "wired" nature of the Chilean population into account will have extremely limited success. US officials must get it right the first time in order to keep the focus where it belongs: on the road to rebuilding after disaster.
The views and opinions expressed in this blog post are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion or position of Concepts & Strategies, Inc.
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