Social media use soars in flood-hit Thailand

Internet awash with up-to tha minute flood- details:

THAILAND: Thais struggling to make sense of the kingdom’s deadly flood crisis are turning to social media like never before, spurred by confusing official information about the disaster, observers say.

From Facebook photos of overflowing canals to tweets warning of snakes on the loose and YouTube videos of what to pack for an evacuation, the Internet is awash with up-to-the-minute details of Thailand’s worst floods in decades.

Thais are stepping in to fill a need for real-time, practical information that is not always met by the authorities or traditional media, although social media themselves are often rife with misinformation.

The three-month-old disaster, which has claimed more than 440 lives, has been plagued by contradictory statements from local and national officials about areas most at risk and how best to deal with the floodwaters.

“Right now, the government is not meeting the demands of the information that the public is waiting for,” said retired Thai academic Somkiat Onwimon, a former senator and news anchor who has more than 68,000 Twitter followers.

“So there are a lot of people who organise their own blogs or use websites like Twitter.”

Social media expert Jon Russell, Asia editor of tech website The Next Web, agreed.

AFP