Shake, quake or fake? Comparing BGS expected intensity modelling, felt reports, Twitter comments, and public perceptions

For over four decades, social scientists, and particularly those interested in risk perception and risk communication, have examined how members of the general public think about and respond to earthquakes (e.g., Kunreuther and Slovic 1978; for an earlier preliminary exploration see: Kates 1964). As social scientific attention to earthquake risk expanded, much work sought to identify ways of communicating with the public in an effort to make them more risk-aware and to encourage them to take protective adaptations to reduce risk to themselves and/or their property. Our central interest in this research project is to generate new data on how and why members of the British public respond to induced seismic events as they do, which can be used to inform decisions (e.g., by British Geological Survey (BGS), Coal Authority, etc.) relating to communication about and engagement on future subsurface energy developments, such as geothermal or carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects.