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Retweets of officials’ alarming vs reassuring messages during the COVID-19 pandemic: Implications for crisis management

Author

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  • Rao, H. Raghav
  • Vemprala, Naga
  • Akello, Patricia
  • Valecha, Rohit

Abstract

Coronavirus related discussions have spiraled at an exponential rate since its initial outbreak. By the end of May, more than 6 million people were diagnosed with this infection. Twitter witnessed an outpouring of anxious tweets through messages associated with the spread of the virus. Government and health officials replied to the troubling tweets, reassuring the public with regular alerts on the virus's progress and information to defend against the virus. We observe that social media users are worried about Covid 19-related crisis and we identify three separate conversations on virus contagion, prevention, and the economy. We analyze the tone of officials’ tweet text as alarming and reassuring and capture the response of Twitter users to official communications. Such studies can provide insights to health officials and government agencies for crisis management, specifically regarding communicating emergency information to the public via social media for establishing reassurance.

Suggested Citation

  • Rao, H. Raghav & Vemprala, Naga & Akello, Patricia & Valecha, Rohit, 2020. "Retweets of officials’ alarming vs reassuring messages during the COVID-19 pandemic: Implications for crisis management," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 55(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ininma:v:55:y:2020:i:c:s026840122031029x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2020.102187
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    Cited by:

    1. Ioanna Karantza & Michael Chrissos Anestis & Sotirios Vlachakis, 2022. "Crisis mapping in the “senses” arena narratives," International Review on Public and Nonprofit Marketing, Springer;International Association of Public and Non-Profit Marketing, vol. 19(4), pages 649-673, December.
    2. Ahmed Abbasi & Robin Dillon & H. Raghav Rao & Olivia R. Liu Sheng, 2024. "Preparedness and Response in the Century of Disasters: Overview of Information Systems Research Frontiers," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 35(2), pages 460-468, June.
    3. Paras Bhatt & Naga Vemprala & Rohit Valecha & Govind Hariharan & H. Raghav Rao, 2023. "User Privacy, Surveillance and Public Health during COVID-19 – An Examination of Twitterverse," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 25(5), pages 1667-1682, October.

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