Abstract (eng)
The refugee situation at late summer 2015 with increased number of asylum applications in Ausria was characterised by an atmosphere of insecurity in politics and society. Not only the public debate about the asylum policy reflects this emotional time, also a considerable number of rumours about refugees appeared on Facebook.
This thesis investigates these rumours and the involved organisations that range from hospitals, to companies, municipalities and non-profit organisations and in particular stu-dies the question: „Are there any similarities in how organisations handle the rumours about refugees on Facebook, in which they are involved?
Finding answers to this central question will involve theoretic analysis of rumours, the current topic of fake news, crisis management and crisis respond strategies with refe-rence to Facebook. Furthermore, the analysis will be completed with studying the role of watchblogs and their work on clarifying the backgrounds of rumours on Facebook. There will be a particular focus on the relationship between organisations and watchblogs.
22 organisations and 2 watchblogs have been interviewed about their response to rumours, their opportunities for actions against them and the rumour’s influence on the organisation.---1 CD-ROM, 1 DVD-ROM in der Printversion vorhanden