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Public Health Messaging on Twitter During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Observational Study.
Ashwin Rao1, Nazanin Sabri2, Siyi Guo1
1Information Sciences Institute, University of Southern California, Marina del Rey, CA, United States.
Journal of Medical Internet Research
|February 5, 2025
Summary
Public health experts used positive language on social media during COVID-19, while pseudoexperts used negative language. Strategic use of moral-emotional language can reduce polarization and build public trust during health crises.
Area of Science:
- Public Health Communication
- Social Media Analysis
- Health Crisis Management
Background:
- Social media is a key platform for public health experts (PHEs) during health crises.
- Pseudoexperts also use social media to spread contrarian views, complicating public health messaging.
- Communication strategies, including emotional and moral language, during the COVID-19 pandemic emergency phase require further exploration.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze communication strategies of PHEs and pseudoexperts during the COVID-19 pandemic's emergency phase.
- To examine the use of emotional and moral language in their social media messages.
- To understand interactions with political elites and public engagement with PHEs.
Main Methods:
- Observational study of over 539,000 Twitter posts from PHEs and pseudoexperts (Jan 2020-Jan 2021).
- Analysis of emotional and moral language in original posts and replies.
- Evaluation of messaging strategies and their influence on public response.
Main Results:
- PHEs focused on masking, healthcare, education, and vaccines, using positive emotional language.
- Pseudoexperts discussed therapeutics and lockdowns, employing negative emotions and partisan language.
- Negative language increased engagement, while PHEs' positive language fostered positive public responses.
Conclusions:
- Understanding social media communication dynamics is vital for refining health crisis strategies.
- Strategic use of moral-emotional language is essential for reducing polarization and fostering trust.
- PHEs' communication styles influenced public discourse and partisan alignment.
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