In natural hazard emergencies, visual media (images, videos) document and convey the possible risk, impact, and severity of the hazard. Issues arise when the visuals being circulated, at scale and speed, are manipulated, fake, or are from an unrelated event or location. These problematic visuals can impact how communities interpret the risk of an emergency. Further, when visual media present information (i.e. a cue) in conflict with what an emergency services agency is instructing the public to do, it can lead to uncertainty and confusion in the community on how to act. This research identifies four specific types of problematic visual media that are common to natural hazard emergencies in Australia. We propose a combination of reactive and proactive strategies that can be employed by emergency services agencies to manage the extent and impact of these problematic visuals.

在自然灾害紧急情况下，视觉媒体（图像，视频）记录并传达该危险的潜在风险，影响和严重性。当视觉效果被大规模，快速地传播，操纵，伪造或来自无关事件或位置时，就会出现问题。这些有问题的视觉效果可能会影响社区如何解释紧急情况的风险。此外，当视觉媒体提供的信息（即提示）与紧急服务机构指示公众的行为发生冲突时，可能会导致社区不确定如何采取行动。这项研究确定了澳大利亚自然灾害紧急情况中常见的四种特殊类型的有问题的视觉媒体。