The growing number of data breaches demands an effective approach to prevent reputational harm to companies. Situational Crisis Communication Theory suggests that stronger crisis response...Show moreThe growing number of data breaches demands an effective approach to prevent reputational harm to companies. Situational Crisis Communication Theory suggests that stronger crisis response strategies should be used when more responsibility for the crisis is attributed to the company. However, the theory is not fully applicable to data breaches due to the ambiguous nature of the responsibility for the incident. This paper aims to make this less ambiguous by suggesting that one of the predictive factors for the attributed responsibility, and therefore the level of crisis responsibility used, is the sensitivity of the leaked data. This paper examines the relationship between the sensitivity of the leaked data in data breaches and the type of crisis communication response. With content analysis, this paper systematically compares 20 data breach notifications from universities and hospitals in the U.S. Literature would suggest stronger crisis response strategies when the data breach contains sensitive information. However, the frequency analysis shows that companies dealing with sensitive data in data breaches use few strong crisis response strategies in their crisis responses, which would suggest that these companies could be more effective at limiting their reputational damages.Show less
There is currently a gap in knowledge concerning how authoritarian regimes communicate with the public during crises and how they seek to make-meaning of crises. A key characteristic of...Show moreThere is currently a gap in knowledge concerning how authoritarian regimes communicate with the public during crises and how they seek to make-meaning of crises. A key characteristic of authoritarian regimes is that they seek to manage the flow of information and fill the mass media with pro-regime narratives, of which propaganda is a key communication tool. Propaganda as a means of communication aimed at influencing a target audience to advance a political agenda. This paper analyses the Maduro regime’s use of propaganda during the Covid-19 pandemic in Venezuela, focusing on identifying the communication techniques and narratives employed by the regime in it’s response to the crisis. A content analysis is employed to analyse regime-backed media during the period of the pandemic. This study bears significance for furthering an understanding of how autocratic political actors respond during crises and frame security where state-capacity is weak. It concludes that the Maduro regime employs propaganda to shift blame for the crisis while espousing an image of the strength and resilience of the regime, it’s system and instruments of social control. This parallels with reports of similar initiatives to control and manipulate information in other undemocratic states during the pandemic.Show less
