Twitter as a Means of Emotional Coping and Collective (Re)Framing of Crises. Case Study: The “Colectiv” Crisis in Romania

The lack of information from the organizations involved in a crisis situation and the high level of uncertainty may result in setting an emotional tone on social media and even in bringing radical political and social changes. Such an example is the Colectiv crisis in Romania. The fire, caused by a fireworks display, broke out at the Colectiv nightclub where almost 300 people were attending the “Goodbye to Gravity” band concert. 27 people died that night and the death toll reached 63 in December. This tragedy led to an online and offline civic uprising, Romanian citizens protesting against a corrupted political system. The scope of this study is to examine the emotion-filled dialogue on Twitter and to determine the evolution of coping strategies and collective action frames throughout this crisis which resulted in a social and political reform in Romania.