COVID-19 Twitter Communication of Major Societal Stakeholders: Health Institutions, the Government, and the News Media

Authors

  • Wenyou Ye Philip Merrill College of Journalism University of Maryland 7765 Alumni Dr College Park, MD 20742
  • Rodrigo Dorantes-Gilardi Northeastern University Network Science Institute and Department of Physics 360 Huntington Ave Boston 02115 MA
  • Ziyu Xiang Stanford University Department of Psychology 450 Jane Stanford Way Stanford CA 94305
  • Liviu Aron Harvard Medical School Department of Genetics Paul F. Glenn Center for the Biology of Aging 77 Ave Louis Pasteur Boston 02115 MA

Keywords:

COVID-19, coronavirus, health communication, communication, stakeholders, Twitter, social media

Abstract

More than 200 million people worldwide have been afflicted with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). To gain insights into COVID-19 communication on social media, we surveyed 354,200 tweets posted between January 1 and November 14, 2020, by some of the major societal stakeholders in the fight against COVID-19: government health agencies, hospitals, medical and scientific journals, and the news media. We uncover a sustained COVID-19 communication effort by government agencies, hospitals, and journals. By contrast, COVID-19 coverage by the news media on Twitter substantially declined after May 2020 and became increasingly more politicized. Using multivariate regression analysis, we identify medical, political, and socioeconomic elements of COVID-19 communication that predict user engagement on Twitter. A better understanding of the communication strategies that engage social media audiences may be vital to managing the current COVID-19 pandemic and saving human lives.

Author Biographies

Wenyou Ye, Philip Merrill College of Journalism University of Maryland 7765 Alumni Dr College Park, MD 20742

Wenyou Ye, M.Sc.Ph.D. student in journalismPhilip Merrill College of JournalismUniversity of Maryland7765 Alumni DrCollege Park, MD 20742Phone: 617-971-6324

Rodrigo Dorantes-Gilardi, Northeastern University Network Science Institute and Department of Physics 360 Huntington Ave Boston 02115 MA

Dr. Rodrigo Dorantes-Gilardi, Ph.D.Network Science Institute and Department of PhysicsNortheastern University360 Huntington AveBoston 02115 MAPhone 857-340-0186 

Ziyu Xiang, Stanford University Department of Psychology 450 Jane Stanford Way Stanford CA 94305

Ziyu Xiang, M.Sc.Graduate student in psychology450 Jane Stanford WayStanford CA 94305Phone: 812-369-7314

Liviu Aron, Harvard Medical School Department of Genetics Paul F. Glenn Center for the Biology of Aging 77 Ave Louis Pasteur Boston 02115 MA

Dr. Liviu Aron, Ph.D.Alice Weiner Senior Research Fellow Paul F. Glenn Center for the Biology of AgingDepartment of Genetics77 Avenue Louis PasteurBoston, 02115 MAPhone: 617-543-7441https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=a-vN5IgAAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdate

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Published

2021-10-15

Issue

Vol. 15 (2021)

Section

Articles

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