A field experiment with single factor design was used. We compared four official messages communicated online by the municipality of Evergem. The communication team of the municipality provided us with all of the messages they had communicated to the public. We selected four that were representative of their overall communication and which differed in terms of content and format. For this study, we gathered data from local residents in and around the affected area. A total of 529 respondents took part in the experiment. Two sampling methods were used to gather participants. First, a market research company recruited a representative sample of 387 inhabitants of the Ghent Canal Zone and its immediate environment. In addition, a convenience sample of 142 respondents took part in the study. These respondents were recruited by posting the survey link on Facebook and Twitter, mainly in online communities for members living in the affected area.