Social Media, Risk Communication, and Public Engagement During the 2023 Turkey–Syria Earthquakes: Insights from Facebook Posts

This study investigates the role of social media during the 2023 Turkey-Syria earthquakes through analysis of 117,760 Turkish-language Facebook posts collected from February 7 to 20, 2023. Using natural language processing embedding and clustering methods, five main topic clusters were identified: After Effects, Breaking News, Regular News, Help and Rescue, and Aid Logistics. These clusters reveal diverse narratives, including real-time updates, community rescue efforts, aid coordination, and socio-economic impacts. Engagement metrics, such as likes, comments, shares, and emotional reactions, show that posts in the Regular News and Help and Rescue clusters received the highest and most sustained user interaction, indicating the importance of social media in disseminating information and fostering emotional solidarity and collective action. Temporal analysis demonstrated that engagement with urgent rescue (Help and Rescue cluster) and news content (Regular News cluster) persisted longer than posts about Aid Logistics and After Effects, which declined as official responses stabilized. The study applies the Uses and Gratifications Theory and the Social Amplification of Risk Framework to explain the motivations for social media use and the amplification of risk communication through these platforms during a crisis. The study highlights the potential of social media as a tool for enhancing disaster communication strategies. Specifically, how various narrative types can be effectively leveraged to sustain engagement, support operational coordination, and align communication efforts more closely with evolving public needs during crises.