Retórica y comunicación en las interacciones con la población civil en contextos de emergencia: el papel de los especialistas Lidiia Verbytska 1 , Iryna Babii 2 , Tetiana Konivitska 3 , Maryna Kulchytska 4 , Halyna Khlypavka 5 1 Candidate of Philological Scienses, Head of the Ukrainian Studies and Intercultural Communication Department, Faculty of Psychology and Social Protection, Lviv State University of Life Safety, Lviv, Ukraine. Email: lidaverbitska2017@gmail.com ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0329-4553 2 Candidate of Pedagogical Science, Associate Professor of the Ukrainian Studies and Intercultural Communication Department, Faculty of Psychology and Social Protection, Lviv State University of Life Safety, Lviv, Ukraine. Email: iryna280878babij@gmail.com; ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5555-8314 3 Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences, Associate Professor of the Ukrainian Studies and Intercultural Communication Department, Faculty of Psychology and Social Protection, Lviv State University of Life Safety, Lviv, Ukraine. Email: tvitska@gmail.com; ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2905-9191 4 Candidate of Philological Scienses, Associate Professor of the Ukrainian Studies and Intercultural Communication Department, Faculty of Psychology and Social Protection, Lviv State University of Life Safety, Lviv, Ukraine. Email: krymmaryna@gmail.com; ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1344-9264 5 Candidate of Pedagogical Science, Associate Professor of the Ukrainian Studies and Intercultural Communication Department, Faculty of Psychology and Social Protection, Lviv State University of Life Safety, Lviv, Ukraine. Email: khlypavka.halyna@gmail.com; ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9707-0336 Resumen. Este estudio examina las estrategias retóricas y comunicativas emplea- das por especialistas en protección civil durante situaciones de emergencia, centrándo- se en el papel de las plataformas digitales y la inteligencia artificial en la configuración de la confianza pública, las respuestas conductuales y la resiliencia informativa. La investigación se basa en un análisis comparativo de indicadores estadísticos oficiales e informes institucionales de Ucrania, Polonia y Lituania para el período 2021–2024. Los indicadores cuantitativos de la eficacia de la comunicación en crisis, incluidos el tiempo de respuesta, el uso de canales digitales, las tasas de aclaración y los inciden- Recibido: 02/01/2026 ~ Aceptado: 15/02/2026 INTERACCIÓN Y PERSPECTIVA Revista de Trabajo Social ISSN 2244-808X ~ Dep. Legal pp 201002Z43506 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19255801 Vol. 16 (2): 733 - 749 pp, 2026

734 Verbytska, Babii, Konivitska, Kulchytska, Khlypavka Interacción y Perspectiva. Revista de Trabajo Social Vol. 16(2): 2026 Rhetoric and communication in interactions with the civilian population in emergency contexts: the role of specialists Abstract. is study examines rhetorical and communicative strategies em- ployed by civil protection specialists during emergency situations, focusing on the role of digital platforms and artificial intelligence in shaping public trust, behavioral responses, and information resilience. e research is based on a comparative analy- sis of official statistical indicators and institutional reports from Ukraine, Poland, and Lithuania for the period 2021–2024. Quantitative indicators of crisis commu- nication effectiveness, including response time, use of digital channels, clarification rates, and disinformation incidents, were combined with qualitative content analysis of international policy documents and academic literature on crisis rhetoric, digital communication, and AI-assisted information management. e findings show that higher levels of digital integration correlate with faster response times and lower rates of clarification requests and disinformation. Nevertheless, communication effective- ness is determined primarily by message clarity, standardization, and rhetorical struc- ture rather than by message volume. Digital platforms and artificial intelligence en- hance crisis communication only when integrated with coherent rhetorical strategies and ethical governance principles, emphasizing the need for unified communicative guidelines and targeted professional training. Keywords: crisis communication, rhetorical strategies, digital platforms, artificial intelligence, civil protection. INTRODUCTION e growing number of crises in Europe and other countries of the world is proving new pressure on communication between government bodies and individuals as the quality of rheto- ric strategies and online information channels defines the degree of social stability and the pos- sibility of citizens to act in uncertain situations. Scientific studies note the evolution of crisis tes de desinformación, se combinaron con un análisis cualitativo de contenido de documentos internacionales de política pública y literatura académica sobre retórica de crisis, comunicación digital y gestión informativa asistida por IA. Los resultados muestran que mayores niveles de integración digital se correlacionan con tiempos de respuesta más rápidos y menores tasas de solicitudes de aclaración y desinformación. No obstante, la eficacia comunicativa depende principalmente de la claridad del men- saje, su estandarización y su estructura retórica, más que del volumen informativo. Las plataformas digitales y la inteligencia artificial fortalecen la comunicación en crisis solo cuando se integran en estrategias retóricas coherentes y principios de gobernanza ética, lo que subraya la necesidad de directrices comunicativas unificadas y formación profesional específica. Palabras clave: comunicación de crisis, estrategias retóricas, plataformas digitales, inteligencia artificial, protección civil.

Retórica y comunicación en las interacciones con la población civil en contextos de emergencia: el papel de los especialistas 735 Vol. 16(2) mayo - agosto 2026/ 733 - 749 communication under the impact of social networks, which become the important platforms of spread and decody of risk information (Erokhin & Komendantova, 2024; Noor et al., 2024), other writers mention the necessity of the accepted rhetorical frameworks and interagency coor- dination to avoid confusion of the information field (Christensen & Madsen, 2020; Ross et al., 2024). Meanwhile, scientists become increasingly interested in the possibility of artificial intel- ligence to forecast risks and filter misinformation, but scientists warn that technology will not be able to substitute professional rhetorical expertise (Ajayi et al., 2020; Shetty et al., 2025). Although the area is intensively developed, there is a lack of research on the integration of rhetorical strategies and digital signs of the effectiveness of communication and the impact of these variables on the behavior of people in the periods of crisis. Another weakness is the absence of comparative research that summarizes the process of digital integration and information resil- ience in various countries using actual statistical data. To this end, the study objective is to define the specifics of the rhetorical and communica- tive actions of the representatives of civil protection, describe the correlation between the rhetori- cal strategies and digital performance indicators, and outline the role of digital platforms and AI technologies in the formation of the resilience of the information of the population. In order to reach this objective, the following tasks are established: to examine the current scientific prac- tices, to conduct a comparative statistical study of Ukraine, Poland, and Lithuania, to determine the main indicators of rhetorical and digital communications, and to make recommendations on its optimization. LITERATURE REVIEW e current research focuses on using digital tools together with their corresponding social practices which people follow. Research studies about social networks serve as a new method to study how people distribute information through their connections with their environment (Erokhin & Komendantova, 2024; Noor et al., 2024; Seneviratne et al.,2024; Bhoi et al., 2025). Some of literature indicate that traditional reliance on information, need to be transformed to- ward decentralized interactive digital platforms that could engage population fast and increase institutions transparency (Mole et al., 2025; Park et al., 2024; Ginzarly & Teller, 2025). e research authors state that crisis communication success requires two fundamental elements which consist of operational technological systems and structured messages that use simple language and evidence and suitable content for various audience segments and emo- tional management (Ross et al., 2024; Christensen & Madsen, 2020; Pelfrey, 2021; Abboodi et al., 2023). Some of the studies define the value of community-based models based on in- corporating local knowledge, cultural sensitivity and collaboration between civil protection services and the population (Sahani et al., 2024; Rizal et al., 2025; Bimenyimana et al., 2025; Hoang & Noy, 2020). e research investigates digital infrastructure risk management through scenario modeling and information flow control and protocol standardization for risk communication (Larsson & Große, 2023; Lian et al., 2025; Molinari et al., 2019; Saka et al., 2025). Research conducted at the international level demonstrates that emergency response specialists achieve better commu-

736 Verbytska, Babii, Konivitska, Kulchytska, Khlypavka Interacción y Perspectiva. Revista de Trabajo Social Vol. 16(2): 2026 nication results through digital integration and institutional coordination and data utilization (European Commission, 2024; Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2023; United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, 2023; Eurostat, 2024). One of the most significant areas of scientific discussion in the modern world is disinfor- mation and information security. e need of implementing the early warning tools regarding fakes, ethical chances of digital engagement and transparent algorithms are likewise referred to in publications (Vicari et al., 2025; Ajayi et al., 2020; Torpan et al., 2023; European Commission, 2024). e European Commission (2025), and UCP Knowledge Network (2024) argue that digital investments, as well as standardized risk management models are important. General artificial intelligence in crisis communication has seen the development of new trends such as, multimodal data analysis, scenario prediction and decision guiding. AI technolo- gies, researchers further argue, can be used to enhance the extent of personalization, accuracy and responsiveness in risk assessment as well as create more adaptable behavior among populations through adaptive human centered communication models. e expansion of the theoretical base of the science of crisis communication also includes dedicated ones to increasing knowledge in the field of mass notification system efficiency, infor- mation stored and management, as well as individual behavior modeling within emergency ser- vices. More specifically, Pelfrey (2021) maintains that mass alert systems are effective only when these technical capabilities identified over here are matched with the rhetorical usability of the messages produced, Christensen and Madsen (2020) call for unified terminological ontologies to serve as an antidote to misunderstandings between agencies. In turn, Molinari et al. (2019) and Larsson & Große, 2023) argue that the necessity to validate risk models as well as cross-sector rendering are essential in order to increase confidence in future crisis forecasts and communica- tion decisions. A significant interest in the research of the international scientific community is the problem of community self-organization and the formation of autonomous resilience of the population in crisis situations. Bimenyimana et al. (2025), Hoang and Noy (2020), and Park et al. (2024) stud- ies reveal that the involvement of communities, support options, and localization of information practices can and will greatly reduce the level of anxiety and speed up decision-making during an emergency. Meanwhile, Torpan et al. (2023) note that the high activity of the authorities working in social media cannot be effective without institutional regulations and ethical norms. ere are several studies in risk management which examine the dynamics of behavior and information of complex crisis systems. Saka et al. (2025) regard the digital reluctance of organi- zations as a hindrance on successful adaptation to new communication technologies and Lian et al. (2025) focus on the role of the resilience of the emergency response networks which are able to reconfigure under an overload. e usage of deep learning and multimodel models to predict risks and analyze crisis data automatically is developed by Ajayi et al. (2020) and Shetty et al. (2025), which will allow specialists to analyze behavioral patterns better. According to the reviews of the international level, such indicators of the institutional re- sponse as the alert time, the percentage of digital messages, the degree of misinformation, etc. are directly related to the standardization of procedures, the degree of digital inclusion, and the

Retórica y comunicación en las interacciones con la población civil en contextos de emergencia: el papel de los especialistas 737 Vol. 16(2) mayo - agosto 2026/ 733 - 749 degree of rhetorical education of the staff (European Commission, 2025; Organization for Eco- nomic Co-operation and Development, 2023; United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduc- tion, 2023; Eurostat, 2024; European Commission, 2024), the number of investments in digital infrastructure and analytics tools helps to shorten the time spent on information and enhance the transparency of the crisis processes. An in-depth examination of the scientific sources enables us to infer that the contempo- rary crisis communication is constituted at the nexus of three interlinked fields, i.e., rhetorical practices, online eco-system, and social engagement. Simultaneously, research by Vicari et al. (2025), Abboodi et al. (2023), and Noor et al. (2024) highlights the increased role of fighting disinformation that has become one of the primary issues of civil protection services in the digital information turmoil. Although nowadays there is great advancement in the standardization of digital communi- cations and the application of artificial intelligence technologies, the problem of developing the universal rhetorical model that would allow being adjusted to various types of crises and consider various cultural backgrounds has not yet been resolved in the scientific literature. Besides, an elaborate system of incorporating data, rhetoric and behavioral pointers into one decision sup- port system to be used in civil protection services is yet to be established. MATERIALS AND METHODS It was carried out with the help of thorough overview of the official statistics information, international reviews reports, and scientific publications on the rhetorical and communicative interaction of civil protection services in the cases of emergency situations. e material basis was the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations report (European Commis- sion, 2025), the documents of the European Commission on the risk management, the statistics of Eurostat, the reviews of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (fur- ther – OECD) and United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (further – UNDRR), the national report on Lithuania published by the Ministry of the Interior in 2023-2024 (European Commission, 2024), which also includes the quantitative indicators of response efficiency, digital communication, and the percentage of clarifications and cases of disinformation. An approach involved comparing statistical data of three countries (Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania), normaliza- tion of indicators to one scale, examining changes in 2021-2024 and explaining the communi- cative behavior of specialists according to the international standards of crisis communication. Besides this, scientific sources were analyzed to find patterns in the strategies of rhetoric, the application of digital platforms, and use of artificial intelligence tools in crisis communications practice. Combining these two approaches to the issue enabled the development of a complex model of evaluating the quality of communications in the civil protection services and to justify the practical suggestions to optimize the latter. RESULTS Disclosure of the theory based on which an ideological and discourse statement com- mensurate with an emergency can be made is smart to knowing how experts in civil protection

738 Verbytska, Babii, Konivitska, Kulchytska, Khlypavka Interacción y Perspectiva. Revista de Trabajo Social Vol. 16(2): 2026 enunciate speech-norming information flow, they guide individuals at risk. e current litera- ture sees the crisis system of communication as a cognition, psychological, social and techni- cal structure. In particular, the discussion is targeted at how rhetorical strategies (like plain language communication, providing evidence, humanistic tone and framing messages with an eye toward different publics) help to gradually wear down uncertainty to aid communities in crisis. e above has indicated that communication for better effect is not simply dissemina- tion of information, but pursuit of building trust and making complex clear in plain language, which was also undertaken by the research based on risk communication between institutions and communities (Ross et al., 2024). One central trend in the modern theory is that crisis communication is viewed as a dynam- ic adaptive system, in which actors continually adjust their behaviours accommodating to the evolving events, channels of technology and public emotional reactions (Tao & Shi 2025). From this perspective we will consider how the messages should be formulated to penetrate through these obstacles for entrance and penetration of panic and making a person to decide in an open situation. ere is a recurrent reference in most international reports & inter-disciplinary works to the effect that is not only competence of years, but also continuity at the institutional level of communication that gives unity and minimizing risk for information disorder. e second major trend has been the growing use of digital and social platforms for dis- seminating operational information. Media communication in times of crisis research further highlights how social networks are a both a resource and challenge: while they enable real-time data collection the risk of misinformation being transmitted, which increases public uncertainty is on the rise (Erokhin & Komendantova, 2024; Noor et al., 2024). In this case, Rhetorical in- teraction calls for quick and convincing explanation of the situation, clear targeted messages to various segments of society and non-stop talk to the public. ese replicates are the best social decisions and thus propagators of sociability. e third theoretical reflection area is related to the community-based models of com- munication. Researchers underline that the involvement of the population in the formation of information flows and communication patterns in the time of a crisis is an important contribu- tion to the overall preparedness to respond to a crisis and is the contribution to the mobilization of resources. at is why the recent publications emphasize the significance of dialogue, mutual respect, and attention to cultural context as some of the primary components of rhetorical and communicative interaction (Sahani et al., 2024; Rizal et al., 2025). Partner-based communica- tion enables a more efficient coordination of activities, as well as minimization of social tension, which is particularly applicable in the environment of the digitalization of society. us, contemporary theoretical foundations about the rhetoric of emergency and commu- nicative action in this field describe it as an interdisciplinary phenomenon, the constituent parts of which includes rhetorical competences, socio-psychological processes, digital technologies of communication and institutional administration. e flow of information in a crisis not only has to be fast, but state structures need the ability to craft simple, emotionally contextual and adaptive messages which help build trust, establish collective responsibility and mitigate the risks associated with destabilizing behaviour.

Retórica y comunicación en las interacciones con la población civil en contextos de emergencia: el papel de los especialistas 739 Vol. 16(2) mayo - agosto 2026/ 733 - 749 In order to establish the role and workload of rhetoric strategies and digital communica- tion instruments in dialogue with the population, not only a socio-psychological, but also an institutional and technological context should be considered. Communication in the conditions of crisis assumes the features of a high-stress, dynamic a polymorphous interaction when and rhetorical means not only structure content but also determine people’s reactions. Recent find- ings in the literature suggest that transparency, compassion, fairness and consideration for other member of the population are key dimensions shaping trust in authorities and success of risk management amidst an increasing level of information overload and digital noise (Ross et al., 2024). Social medias, mobile apps, geo-localization are increasing the opportunities of spreading messages that require to be not only excellent but also very precise fast and consistent in terms of communication activities (Noor et al., 2024). A variety of international experiences propose that rhetoric strategies that succeed cannot be less important than technological choices, because they determine the rate at which risk is perceived and rated, the willingness to act and community resilience to stressors in general. Table 1 summarizes the role of rhetorical strategies and digital tools in various types of crisis situations, taking into account socio-psychological factors and behavioral characteristics of the population. e operational load of rhetorical strategies in the crisis communication is to create a con- tent pattern that makes it possible to manage public feelings, structure information and predict behavior reactions by the population. ese strategies are potentiated by digital media that widen the circulation, and speed of diffusion, and customize the message, however they require a high degree of rhetorical control, accuracy and ethical responsibility on the part of civil protection ser- vice officials. When these rhetorical and technical dimensions cross-cut each other, they inform a grey zone: the crisis communication field inhabited if you will by the quality of communicative acts between stakeholders, and society’s ability to respond to threats and mitigate social distur- bance. In the era of digitalization with rapid pace and facing complex emergency situations, AI enables a new type of learning design, broadens communication channels, fuels decision making processes and fosters dialogue between cultures under conditions with high level of uncertainty. eoretical and applied research is consistent in suggesting that the use of AI allows for a greater likelihood of personalized learning, simulating scenarios of crises, automatically analyzing pat- terns in communication and risk to behaviours (Shetty et al., 2025; Ginzarly & Teller, 2025). Particularly relevant is the capacity of AI systems to boost ethical and informational transparency, counter disinformation propagation, as well as to help enhance professionals’ overall prepared- ness for dealing with different population groups (Vicari et al., 2025). at is why the formation of an analytical model in turn provides the potential to combine several AI utilities into a single methodological and communication complex. In Table 2, an analytical model is presented which represents the relationship between peda- gogical, technological and communication potential of AI and concrete consequences accompa- nying their application in training civil protection specialists.

740 Verbytska, Babii, Konivitska, Kulchytska, Khlypavka Interacción y Perspectiva. Revista de Trabajo Social Vol. 16(2): 2026 e constructed analytical model reveals the fact that AI systems are a driver for qualitative transformation in training personnel for civil protection, as they integrate pedagogical inventions and technological intellectualization and advanced tools of communication. It makes a contri- bution to know the behavioral responses of the population, raise the level of intercultural and rhetorical competence of professionals and strengthen institutional interaction ethics. TABLE 1. Rhetorical strategies and digital tools in crisis communication of civil protection services. Type of crisis situation Basic rhetorical strategies Digital communication tools Socio-psychological factors Behavioral reactions of the population Technological and infrastructure accidents e instructions need to be clear and stu- dents must learn to reason through cause- and-effect relation- ships and they should learn how to prevent panic situations. Mobile alerts, official Telegram channels, inte- ractive maps Increased anxiety, need for informa- tion certainty Active search for confirmation, de- pendence on offi- cial sources Natural disasters (floods, storms, earthquakes) People build stron- ger community bonds through em- pathetic dialogue which leads them to join forces as a sin- gle unified group. Social media en- ables coordina- tion through its crisis platforms which combine with real-time photo and video reports to func- tion as essential features. Shock reactions, decreased ratio- nality, need for support Increased mobi- lity, tendency to rely on the advice of others Epidemiological and biological threats Scientifically based explanations, myth busting, data trans- parency Open data por- tals, dashboards, chatbots Distrust of sour- ces, fatigue from information over- load Oscillation bet- ween caution and ignoring risks Social and humanitarian crises Nonviolent rhe- toric, dialogicity, emphasizing human rights Public dialogue platforms, onli- ne consultations Polarization, emo- tional tension, strengthening of group identity Active commen- ting, harsh as- sessment of the actions of govern- ment structures Combined multifactorial crises e research unites integrated rhetorical models with adapta- tion techniques for different audience segments and sce- nario forecasting methods. Multimodal notification sys- tems, artificial intelligence for data analysis Instability of risk assessment, chan- ging behavioral patterns Switching bet- ween panic and rational action, dependence on expert advice Source: created by the author based on (Noor et al., 2024; Ross et al., 2024; Sahani et al., 2024; Rizal et al., 2025).

Retórica y comunicación en las interacciones con la población civil en contextos de emergencia: el papel de los especialistas 741 Vol. 16(2) mayo - agosto 2026/ 733 - 749 is model emphasizes that applied AI’s efficiency is not only a techno-systemic result, but it somehow depends, as well – what we call “enabling” – on the completion of critical thinking and ethical reflection, from within the happening of innovation-openness in civil protection system. Empirical validation of the communication behavior of civil protection professionals (according to official statistical reports). e methodological foundations of the study were formulated following an analysis and synthesis of official statistics data, as well as international review reports, which contained quantitative characteristics regarding civil protection services, response dynamics, digital communica- tion parameters and institutional indicators of information interaction with populations in extreme cri- sis situations. e main ones were: annual report 2024 of European Civil Protection and Humanitar- ian Aid Operations (European Commission, 2025); review “Preventing and managing disaster risk in Europe” (European Commission, 2024); the EDPP2_C1 Smart Investments report (UCP Knowledge Network, 2024); Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction Data Annex (United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, 2023); OECD statistical analytical review Crisis management and risk governance data review above; Eurostat database about emergency response indicators for years 2023–2024 (Eurostat, 2024) and official report by the European Commission on effectiveness of pub- lic safety crisis communication activity done for that period (European Commission. ese sources have specific parameters such as the speed and quality of emergency response times, use of digital infor- mation channels, level of explanation in the information that is given and how emergency messages are organized and a tendency to develop disinformation within a public institution such as civil protection. TABLE 2. Analytical model of the relationship between the capabilities of AI systems and practical effects in the training of civil protection specialists. Component Capabilities of modern AI systems Practical effects for training specialists Intercultural, informational and ethical aspects Pedagogical Personalized learning; adap- tive simulators; automated skill assessment; creation of crisis simulations Increasing professional readiness; developing si- tuational thinking; deve- loping decision-making skills under pressure Cultural sensitivity in learning scenarios; ethical assessment; accessibility of materials Technological Big data analysis; risk pre- diction; multimodal mes- sage processing; integration with alerting platforms Fast information proces- sing; increased forecast accuracy; improved emer- gency coordination Transparency of algo- rithms; protection of per- sonal data; minimization of information distortions Communicative Text and script generation; emotion recognition; popu- lation reaction modeling; multilingual support Improving the quality of crisis messages; effectively interacting with different audiences; optimizing rhetorical strategies Cross-cultural sensitivity in messaging; prevention of manipulation; balance between automation and human control Organizational Automated analytical dash- boards; scenario modeling; decision support Coordination of services; increased responsiveness; improved interaction with the public Accountability of AI use; ethical management stan- dards; openness of deci- sion-making procedures Source: created by the author based on (Ginzarly & Teller, 2025; Shetty et al., 2025; Vicari et al., 2025; Tao & Shi, 2025).

742 Verbytska, Babii, Konivitska, Kulchytska, Khlypavka Interacción y Perspectiva. Revista de Trabajo Social Vol. 16(2): 2026 ese results were compared with the selected aggregate indicators of three nations: Ukraine, Poland and Lithuania. e emergency rate in Ukraine is a high one, and this characteristic strongly influences the standard of official reporting and the burden of services. In Poland, equal rates of response are recorded as well, as evidenced by OECD and Eurostat (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development 2023; Eurostat 2024) data. In Europe, Lithuania has the best digitally connected system of crisis communication according to report of its Min- istry of the Interior (European Commission, 2024). e methodology involved a comparison of five indicators that best characterize the communication behaviour of emergency services ex- perts: average response time; the proportion of crisis communications over digital channels; the avereage number official announcements; the size portion communications where clarification was needed; and frequency at which disinformation events occur. Originally all the indicators were translated into a common framework, allowing an acceptable statistical formulation of be- havioural patterns. e organized data is shown in Figure 1. Statistical data indicate that there is a considerable difference between countries in the orga- nization and quality of communication work in the area of civil protection. e maximum time of response 13.12 minutes is characteristic of Ukraine, 25.2% slower than Poland and 49.5% slower than Lithuania. is is in line with the results of the European Civil Protection and Hu- manitarian Aid Operations report (European Commission, 2025) that reported that the more digital integration countries have, the faster the initial information dissemination towards the population. In Lithuania, the digital channels share of crisis communications is 84.62, which is 20.2 and 46.3 times higher than Poland and Ukraine respectively. As it is claimed in the EDPP2_C1 Smart Investments report (UCP Knowledge Network, 2024), it is specifically the rise in the digital capacity of the communications system that allows considerably lessening the load on operational centers and reducing the time spent on the information requests. FIGURE 1. Statistical indicators of communication activity of emergency services (Ukraine – Poland – Lithuania, data for 2021–2024). Source: created by the author based on (European Commission, 2025; European Commission, 2024; UCP Knowledge Network, 2024; United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, 2023; Organisa- tion for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2023; Eurostat, 2024).

Retórica y comunicación en las interacciones con la población civil en contextos de emergencia: el papel de los especialistas 743 Vol. 16(2) mayo - agosto 2026/ 733 - 749 Ukraine has a significantly higher average number of official communications (221.46), which is 16.7% more than Poland and 35.3% more than Lithuania, reflecting a high level of cri- sis load. However, the higher volume of communication is accompanied by a higher proportion of clarifications – 20.31%, while in Poland this figure is 15.42% and in Lithuania – 11.18%. us, the difference between Ukraine and Lithuania is 9.13 percentage points. e United Na- tions Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (2023) report emphasizes that an increase in the propor- tion of clarifications is an indicator of information channel overload and insufficient standardiza- tion of crisis messages. e biggest problem remains the number of disinformation incidents: 7.13 per 100 crisis events in Ukraine, 4.36 in Poland, and only 2.58 in Lithuania. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2023), countries with developed information security protocols and early detection systems for fake news show significantly lower levels of information threats. As a result, it is clear that digital security, communication standardization, investment in early response systems, and transparency of institutional actions are key factors in shaping predictable and effective communication behavior by emergency services. Table 3 reflects the dynamics of changes in key crisis communication indicators in three countries for 2021–2024. TABLE 3. Dynamics of key indicators of crisis communication of emergency services in 2021–2024 (Ukraine – Poland – Lithuania). Indicator 2021 2022 2023 2024 Change 2021–2024, % Ukraine Average response time, min 15.42 14.83 13.97 13.12 –14.9% Share of digital channels, % 51.74 53.29 55.82 57.83 +11.8% Clarification of messages, % 23.48 22.17 21.04 20.31 –13.5% Disinformation (per 100 events) 8.21 7.94 7.42 7.13 –13.1% Poland Average response time, min 11.29 10.94 10.62 10.48 –7.2% Share of digital channels, % 66.14 67.52 69.38 70.39 +6.4% Clarification of messages, % 17.36 16.48 15.93 15.42 –11.1% Disinformation (per 100 events) 4.92 4.61 4.44 4.36 –11.4% Lithuania Average response time, min 9.62 9.31 9.04 8.77 –8.8% Share of digital channels, % 78.51 80.17 81.63 84.62 +7.8% Clarification of messages, % 13.24 12.82 11.94 11.18 –15.6% Disinformation (per 100 events) 3.17 2.98 2.71 2.58 –18.6% Source: created by the author based on (European Commission, 2025; European Commission, 2024; UCP Knowledge Network, 2024; United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, 2023; Organisa- tion for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2023; Eurostat, 2024).

744 Verbytska, Babii, Konivitska, Kulchytska, Khlypavka Interacción y Perspectiva. Revista de Trabajo Social Vol. 16(2): 2026 e systemic shift for the better can be seen in all three countries. e fastest reduction in response time is in Ukraine (-14,9%), however the base level of disinformation incident rates re- mains the highest and was only reduced by a small amount. e overall tendency is similar to in Latvia, although, unlike Latvia, the safest country for disinformation decrease is Poland, which has best results on decrease of clarifications and information mistakes (although there might be a problem – the sooner life goes back to normal, the harder it is to compare how each countries are now performing) and Lithuania shows best digitalization (+7.8) as well strong decreasing of disin- formation (–18.6). ese figures testify digital readiness’ actuality influences on a high-quality crisis communication and predictive stability of behaviors made by the specialists of emergency services. e formation of practical recommendations for this influence to achieve harmony between the crisis and the organization in which it occurs is built on factors of a complex analysis of statistical indicators that demonstrate dependence on the effectiveness of reactions by the level digitalization, rhetorical preparation, readiness to act (specialist) and at an extremely high rate in conditions with changing information space. Increasingly in the context of contemporary civil protection, communication relies on collaboration with social networks and digital solutions, but also predictive models and artificial intelligence analysis (as data provided by the European Commission, OECD and UNDRR show.) e precise content, form and impact of the official messages depend on the extent to which experts have rhetorical resources at their disposal that could allow them to mitigate information uncertainties and secure a certain amount of trust among La population. e integration and training of human resources could then be carried out to stabilize the information flows, and improve the population response level. A list of practical recommendations informed by prospective views on opportunities and barriers for crisis communication to align with current challenges and megatrends was intro- duced in Table 4. e recommendations offered are an overall strategy of delivering the most out of the tech- nological opportunities provided by digital systems and professional skills of civil protection specialists. ese suggestions will enhance the rightness and timeliness of the response, the possi- bility of misunderstanding information, and the sense of trust in the official institutions or struc- ture by the population. e standardization of messages, institutional coordination, the building of digital infrastructure and the systematic training of staff members are the main conditions of success as it guarantees stability of communications even in the situation of the high uncertainty. DISCUSSION According to the results, we have also observed significant distinctions between indicators of crisis communication in Ukraine, Poland and Lithuania as a result of inequality in level of digital integration and standardization for rhetorical practical activities of civil protection ser- vices. In part, these data are in agreement with those of Ross et al. (2024) who also claim that the digital age represents uneven conditions for authorities across resources, institutional strength. Our results support their view, since Lithuania is more digitized and also experiences lower lev- els of disinformation than Ukraine, which falls in line with the authors’ expectations regarding technological readiness to foster public trust.

Retórica y comunicación en las interacciones con la población civil en contextos de emergencia: el papel de los especialistas 745 Vol. 16(2) mayo - agosto 2026/ 733 - 749 Meanwhile, part of our findings are implicit correction of the misjudgment made by schol- ars that using social media actively could have simply enhanced crisis communication quality (Bhoi et al., 2025; Mole et al., 2025). In both true and contrived cases, our study showed that official messages while numerous for a high impact event may not always extremely clarify a situation with much misinformation as in the case of Ukraine. is paradox can be justified on the grounds that a frequency of communications is not equivalent to its structure and rhetori- cal quality, following Christensen and Madsen (2020) who stressed the need for harmonized terminological and semantic models in emergency services. e findings, therefore, support the notion that social media is useful only if there is a coherent rhetorical strategy in place with uni- fied protocols and interagency cooperation. It’s also debatable how effective a response has been in the influence of community-based communication. Authors also stress (Sahani et al., 2024; Rizal et al., 2025; Bimenyimana et al., TABLE 4. Practical recommendations for optimizing crisis communication of civil protection services. Direction Practical recommendation Expected effect Key risk in case of non-implementation Social networks and online platforms Standardize publication formats, create a library of ready-made in- formation templates for different types of crisis situations Reducing response time and increasing message accuracy Growing chaos in the information field, in- creasing disinformation Digital channels and interactive tools Expand the use of official chan- nels (Telegram, Public Warning Systems), ensure multilinguality of messages Increasing audience reach and informa- tion accessibility Restrictions on inform- ing vulnerable groups, deterioration of inter- cultural communica- tion Artificial intelligence algorithms Implement AI modules for auto- matic monitoring of crisis events, risk forecasting, and disinforma- tion filtering Reducing the bur- den on operators, increasing the accu- racy of analytics Delays in threat detec- tion, increase in infor- mation incidents Rhetorical competence of specialists Develop a training system for structured messaging, working with emotionally tense audiences, and anti-crisis argumentation Building public trust, reducing the number of clarifica- tions Increasing social tension and misunderstanding of the content of official messages Psychological readiness Introduce training in stress resis- tance, scenario modeling, and cri- sis leadership Increasing the sta- bility of communi- cative behavior, re- ducing errors under pressure Confusion of staff, une- ven response in stressful situations Organizational coordination Develop protocols for interde- partmental communication and data exchange with unified time standards Message consisten- cy, reducing errors and duplication Information gaps, con- flicting messages, delays in response Source: created by the author based on (European Commission, 2025; European Commission, 2024; UCP Knowledge Network, 2024; United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, 2023; Organiza- tion for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2023; Eurostat, 2024).

746 Verbytska, Babii, Konivitska, Kulchytska, Khlypavka Interacción y Perspectiva. Revista de Trabajo Social Vol. 16(2): 2026 2025) that involvement of the community contributes to minimising panic and creates a popula- tion more likely to act in an organized way. In a certain sense, our findings confirm this argument: Lithuania has a higher level of institutional – openness and participation in digital communities and the less misinformation distortion there is. However, Ukraine’s comparative figures indicate that the mobilization of the community alone is not enough in a situation where there are high levels of anomalies and information pressure and there is no conditional standardization of dis- semination. It indicates that it is a complicated pattern for local people to be conformed in the risk management system, which leads to Hoang and Noy (2020) argument: social resilience is gained from the quality of state-person relationship rather than community action engagement. Our results are further in line with the conclusions of Organisation for Economic Co- operation and Development (2023), United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (2023) and the European Commission (2025) that go on to assert that the speed of response and level of misinformation is directly proportional to the digital capacity state systems. Our analysis con- firms this: Lithuania has the most digital channels and the least clarifications and misinforma- tion. However, some signs of the positive impact of digitalisation on OE (especially a reduction in response time) coming from Poland, which runs counter to the assumption about well-estab- lished influence of digitalisation on OE. Maybe it is due to a different organization of the events, different services workload and etc., however these things need to be investigated. Our findings deserve specific mention in contrast with prior works, which focuses on adop- tion of machine learning (Shetty et al., 2025; Vicari et al., 2025 Ajayi et al., 2020). Some writers claim that AI capabilities will help them decrease the misinformation and increase the pace to support analysis. Yet, the real figures for those countries featured in our analysis reveal that this does not hold true: even in those countries with high digital integration, the adoption of AI is inconsistent and still fails to bring about radical change in their crisis communication patterns. So, the fact that AI has a potential is something yet to be fulfilled, in which the intelligence of systems depends on the maturity of institutions and ethical principles as proposed by Vicari et al. (2025). In this respect the debate shows that the findings seem to correspond to trends at interna- tional level, but also presents a number of contradictions which point towards the multifactorial nature of crisis communication. e differences between the countries as well as between the theoretical approaches show that there still is a lack of knowledge in how the processes of infor- mation interaction works and what determines behavioral response to a specific rhetorical strat- egy or how digital technologies influence on dynamics of an emergency situation. Older studies are also needed and receiving such in establishing a harmonized framework that incorporates rhetoric considerations, algorithm applications and institutional management on order to ensure a more reliable crisis communication infrastructure. CONCLUSIONS It turned out that the effectiveness of crisis communication on the part of civil protection services is not only defined by the degree of digital integration, but it is also defined by the pos- sibility to create rhetorically balanced, adaptive, and behaviorally framed messages, which were

Retórica y comunicación en las interacciones con la población civil en contextos de emergencia: el papel de los especialistas 747 Vol. 16(2) mayo - agosto 2026/ 733 - 749 confirmed using the comparative indicators of three countries and their dynamics in 2021–2024. e uniqueness of the obtained results is that the statistical analysis was combined with the rhe- torical and communicative interpretation, as a result of which it became possible to monitor the correlation between the crisis message structure and information resilience of the population. e practical value of the work is that it will create fundamental guidelines on how to examine the rhetorical strategies applicable within training programs on emergency response specialists as well as interagency coordination procedures. Regardless of the sophistication of the techniques, the research has some limitations connected with the dissimilarity of the statistical data and defi- ciency of detailed models of the behavioral response to various kinds of communication among the citizens. An analysis of estimated and actual outcomes demonstrated that despite the fact that digitalization helps reduce the number of information perversions, the most important fac- tor is the rhetoric content of messages and stability of institutional behavior. e data obtained highlight the importance of further research of the effects of artificial intelligence and algorith- mic systems on the design of crisis messages, and the study of the disinformation dynamics mechanisms in multi-channel digital space. e future perspectives are in the creation of unified models incorporating behavioral indicators, rhetorical approaches and digital analytics and the enhancement of crisis communication standards to allow more trust, transparency and resilience of the society in the context of crisis. BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES • Abboodi, Bashar; Pileggi, Salvatore Flavio; Bharathy, Gnana. (2023). “Social Networks in Crisis Management: A Literature Review to Address the Criticality of the Challenge”. Ency- clopedia. Vol. 3, No. 3. pp. 1157-1177. https://doi.org/10.3390/encyclopedia3030084 • Ajayi, Anuoluwapo; Oyedele, Lukumon; Owolabi, Hakeem; Akinade, Olugbenga; Bilal, Muhammad; Davila Delgado, Juan Manuel; Akanbi, Lukman. (2020). “Deep learning mod- els for health and safety risk prediction in power infrastructure projects”. Risk Analysis. Vol. 40, No. 10. pp. 2019–2039. https://doi.org/10.1111/risa.13425 • Bhoi, Ashutosh; Bhuyan, Himadri B. G. S.; Nayak, Rajendra Prasad; Balabantaray, Rakesh Chandra; Pattanaik, Anmol; Chinmay, Ayes. (2025). “Smart crisis response leveraging so- cial media content for effective disaster management”. Discover Computing. Vol. 28. p. 263. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10791-025-09749-1 • Bimenyimana, Pierre Celestin; Synnes, Ronald Mayora; Rutembesa, Eugene; Bukuluki, Paul. (2025). “Social media and self-resilience during pandemics: Experiences from youth volun- teers in Rwanda”. Discover Social Science and Health. Vol. 5. p. 68. https://doi.org/10.1007/ s44155-025-00223-3 • Christensen, Lise Lotte Weilgaard; Madsen, Bodil Nistrup. (2020). “A Danish terminological ontology of incident management in the field of disaster management”. Journal of Contin- gencies and Crisis Management. Vol. 28, No. 4. pp. 466–478. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468- 5973.12334 • Erokhin, Dmitry; Komendantova, Nadejda. (2024). “Social media data for disaster risk man- agement and research”. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction. Vol. 114. 104980. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2024.104980

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