Threat assessment

Each type of threat has a spectrum of responses. So it is necessary to understand which response is appropriate. The threat diagram provides a general framework for responses. If there are several interactions, threats may escalate in severity and response modes may need to be reevaluated.

Security response

A simple reply in the same social media may be all that is needed in most cases. Those who attack via social media often do not believe the people they are attacking are even reading what is posted. They often do not view them as a “real” people and tend to “dehumanize” them with every key stroke.

Responses should be measured. They should, if warranted, include facts to support your reply and at first be kind and professional in nature. The goal is making sure you do not lose a viewer, but instead engage them in a positive way. Providing positive feedback can help an on-air weather personality successfully gain a fan rather than an enemy.

This “win over” strategy should first be used in the most benign attacks or statements online. If someone is expressing their negative opinion about an on-air personality, it is just that: an opinion. An on-air personality does not have to reply, or a simple reply can suffice. A positive reply can include “Thanks for watching,” “Thanks for the update,” Thanks for the information,” or “Would you be interested in sharing your story?” Many TV news stations believe a proper, polite engagement shows effort. You can also request that the post be taken down if you yourself cannot do it.

More serious threats, in which a reply does not resolve the issue, can be addressed through application sanctions. The major social media applications provide a variety of tools to help protect users. Depending on the application, options include hiding objectionable posts, unfriending, blocking posts, turning off the commenting option, and disabling location settings. As the persistence or seriousness of the threat increases, one can report the offense to the application host. The major social media application hosts have policies and procedures that can be used to remove serious threatening accounts. The strongest and most costly response to very serious social media-based threats involves court action and potentially litigation. A threat made on social media is a federal offense. If you reach this level of response, the best path forward would be to seek legal counsel. There are practicing attorneys who specialize in this area of the law (computer crimes attorneys).

Response attributes

How you respond or reply to a negative comment via social media can directly affect your credibility as a journalist or meteorologist. It can also affect your likability as a broadcast meteorologist (impact your ratings). Responses on social media should be formulated to avoid the three “A’s”—admonish, advise, or apologize—because these characteristics will only invite additional and perhaps harsher responses. If you are wrong, admit it, but do not apologize for expressing your well-thought-out post. Bill Eddy's book on the “BIFF” framework gives examples of appropriate responses to a variety of threats. Responses, if deemed necessary, should be well thought-out but rapid, brief, informative, friendly, and firm.

• Rapid: The key to a rapid response is the written response plan. Remember rapid response must be well thought-out.

• Brief: All responses should be a minimum length; there is no need to expand on the topic. They should focus on the heart of the comment made.

• Informative: Each response should contain facts with references to supporting data or publications. The whole truth may not fit the constraints of social media applications.

• Friendly: All social media interactions should be friendly. Always give the one who has posted a comment the benefit of the doubt. One should treat posts and the authors with respect. Perhaps they typed a response too fast and misstated something. Allow a period of calm reflection before responding. Do not allow a social media “flaming” to push responses to extremes.

• Firm: Responses must be positive, so if you have a doubt about your response, do your homework and get the facts.

Record keeping

Keeping a record of social media interactions is key in response decisions and formulation of responses. It can also be used in future threat mitigation actions. Most social media services retain copies of posts for a certain time. It is also important to time stamp postings and responses should the duration interactions need to be documented. Posts that may require action with social media hosts or legal action should be saved offline.

Example

You are a well-respected meteorologist and post your opinion on the current ENSO cycle predictors. A response describes the opinion as overstated, misleading, and downright false. Your response: Since this is a low-level threat, you make a quick post stating that the response is appreciated but you disagree and include references (and perhaps a hot link) to supporting research for the opinion. The answer is rapid, brief, informative, friendly, and firm, and implies that the subject is closed, unless the individual reads the supporting material and has comments on the content.

Remember that posts are shared across many websites and servers. The social media algorithms change daily, thus the distribution also changes. Once something is posted, it cannot be retracted. Three excellent resources on use of social media are the AMS statement on “Best Practices for Publicly Sharing Weather Information Via Social Media,” the “AMS Community Rules and Etiquette,” and the University of the Incarnate Word’s “Social Media Policy.”

Postings on social media that seek to express the truth with fairness and consideration for others can help scientists maintain professionalism and thus enhance their creditability. Management and scientists would be wise to continue to evolve the discussion of how professional standards and reputations can be upheld in the social media “weather room.”