Communicating Scarcity

Abstract

This case study investigates the 2021 Colonial Pipeline cyberattack and its aftermath to examine how panic-buying behavior is shaped by social narratives, media circulation, and public trust. Following a five-day shutdown, consumers across the southeastern U.S.—and beyond—engaged in widespread gasoline hoarding, prolonging shortages and straining local fuel supplies even after service was restored. The case challenges simplistic views of panic-buying as irrational herd behavior, instead revealing how early overbuying, media coverage, and viral social media content can collectively validate and amplify scarcity behaviors. These dynamics disproportionately affect vulnerable populations, including low-income and unbanked individuals, who are less able to hoard resources or absorb price fluctuations. The study underscores the broader consequences of misinformation, declining trust in public institutions, and the failure of traditional communication strategies to address behavioral responses to perceived crisis. Through the lens of information literacy, infrastructural precarity, and risk communication, this case highlights the need for responsive, socially aware strategies to counter misinformation, rebuild trust, and equitably manage public access to essential goods during times of crisis.