Users’ reliance on social media amplifies during crises, experts say, and was compounded by the fact that emergency hotlines were jammed during the storm. Photo: michael wyke/EPA/ShutterstockEmergency response officials are using social media to share information and make requests. One Twitter user responded over the platform to say a group of volunteers was having trouble getting through. The shark image has popped up during other storms including Hurricane Irene in 2011 and was debunked by the fact-checking organization Snopes.com, but is still circulating across social media. “I would say the risk is greater now given social media and how content is created and circulated by untrained users.”Write to Deepa Seetharaman at Deepa.Seetharaman@wsj.com and Georgia Wells at Georgia.Wells@wsj.com

Source: Wall Street Journal August 29, 2017 09:22 UTC