In February of 2019, Aurora, Illinois, tragically joined the ever-growing list of cities that have experienced a mass shooting within the United States. The devastating outcome of the tragedy resulted in five deaths and six injured individuals, including five police officers. The incident quickly went viral on social media, attracting significant attention, and was soon picked up by national media outlets such as WGN TV. In addition to the influx of news vans from major TV networks, more than 300 first responders from multiple law enforcement agencies descended on the city, further amplifying the situation. This created an overwhelming information overload about the incident and what was being reported.
The City of Aurora recognized the urgent need to take control of the narrative and manage the flow of information effectively. It became imperative to have a better grasp of how the event was being discussed and presented to the public, while simultaneously ensuring that residents were receiving accurate and timely information. To achieve this, the City turned to technology for support. With the help of Zencity’s Artificial Intelligence platform, Aurora leveraged the wealth of data streaming in from multiple channels in parallel, ranging from their own official sites to national broadcast media, and even to unofficial social media sources. This allowed them to adopt a data-driven approach to manage the crisis more effectively.
To learn what specific steps the City of Aurora took to manage the information residents received, handle the overflow of national reporting on the shooting, and how Zencity became an invaluable tool in managing the aftermath of the tragedy, ultimately helping the community to recover, download the full case study below.