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Abstract(s)
A pandemia da COVID-19, dado o seu desconhecimento e imprevisibilidade, revelou-se um
desafio a vários níveis - incluíndo ao nível da comunicação -, mais concretamente para as
organizações públicas e de responsabilidade social. Neste trabalho apresentamos os resultados de
uma investigação sobre comunicação governamental feita na página da Direção-Geral da Saúde
na rede social Facebook. Foram analisadas as reações às publicações realizadas entre o dia 1 de
março de 2020 e o dia 30 de junho de 2020 – os quatro primeiros meses de pandemia em Portugal,
somando um total de 539 publicações. Esta investigação visa entender de que forma a
comunicação por parte das autoridades governamentais afetou a perceção do público sobre o
vírus. Durante o estudo, adotando uma estratégia de investigação mista, procedeu-se à
categorização individual do total do número de publicações referidas acima, através de uma
análise indutiva e de uma análise dedutiva. Este trabalho destinou-se a compreender, comparar e
analisar a evolução das diferentes reações a cada publicação e a perceção dos utilizadores às
mesmas durante o espaço temporal anteriormente referido. Os principais resultados obtidos
destacam a importância deste tipo de comunicação durante uma crise de saúde pública e o quão
necessário é construir confiança no público e na promoção da adesão às medidas impostas.
Conseguimos perceber que a esmagadora maioria das publicações analisadas se focaram,
essencialmente, na questão da COVID-19, com um destaque significativo para os conteúdos que
ofereciam diretrizes e métodos de prevenção. Além disso, embora reações como a raiva e a tristeza
tenham sido notavelmente expressivas, as publicações que geraram maior interação por parte do
público, foram aquelas que continham mensagens positivas e transmitiam boas notícias.
Concordantemente com este cenário, as publicações que provocaram maior desacordo incluem
algumas das conferências de imprensa, nas quais foram divulgadas algumas medidas que não
provocavam satisfação nos utilizadores. Ao mesmo tempo foi possível observar uma polaridade
de reações, fortemente derivada do tipo de conteúdo e informação contida em cada publicação –
o que nos leva a destacar a relevância das redes sociais no disseminar de informação fidedigna
durante uma pandemia como aquela que atravessámos.
The COVID-19 pandemic, given its unfamiliarity and unpredictability, proved to be a challenge on many levels, including in terms of communication – especially for public and socially responsible organizations. In this study, we present the results of an investigation into government communication conducted on the Facebook page of the Directorate-General of Health of Portugal. We analyzed the reactions from all posts made between March 1, 2020, and June 30, 2020 – the first four months of the pandemic in Portugal, totaling 539 posts. This research aims to understand how communication by government authorities affected the public’s perception of the virus. During this study, using a mixed research strategy, we individually categorized the total number of posts mentioned above through inductive and deductive analysis. This paper aimed to comprehend, compare, and analyze the evolution of different reactions to each post and users’ perception of them during the time above frame. The main findings highlight the importance of this type of communication during a public health crisis and how crucial it is to build trust in the public and promote adherence to the imposed measures. We can see that the overwhelming majority of the analyzed posts essentially focused on COVID-19, with a significant emphasis on content providing guidelines and prevention methods. Furthermore, although reactions such as anger and sadness were notably expressive, the posts that generated the most engagement from the audience were those containing positive messages and conveying good news. Following this scenario, the posts that triggered the greatest disagreement include some of the press conferences in which certain measures were announced that did not elicit satisfaction from users. At the same time, it was possible to observe a polarity of reactions, strongly influenced by the type of content and information contained in each post – which leads us to emphasize the significance of social media in disseminating accurate information during a pandemic like the one we went through.
The COVID-19 pandemic, given its unfamiliarity and unpredictability, proved to be a challenge on many levels, including in terms of communication – especially for public and socially responsible organizations. In this study, we present the results of an investigation into government communication conducted on the Facebook page of the Directorate-General of Health of Portugal. We analyzed the reactions from all posts made between March 1, 2020, and June 30, 2020 – the first four months of the pandemic in Portugal, totaling 539 posts. This research aims to understand how communication by government authorities affected the public’s perception of the virus. During this study, using a mixed research strategy, we individually categorized the total number of posts mentioned above through inductive and deductive analysis. This paper aimed to comprehend, compare, and analyze the evolution of different reactions to each post and users’ perception of them during the time above frame. The main findings highlight the importance of this type of communication during a public health crisis and how crucial it is to build trust in the public and promote adherence to the imposed measures. We can see that the overwhelming majority of the analyzed posts essentially focused on COVID-19, with a significant emphasis on content providing guidelines and prevention methods. Furthermore, although reactions such as anger and sadness were notably expressive, the posts that generated the most engagement from the audience were those containing positive messages and conveying good news. Following this scenario, the posts that triggered the greatest disagreement include some of the press conferences in which certain measures were announced that did not elicit satisfaction from users. At the same time, it was possible to observe a polarity of reactions, strongly influenced by the type of content and information contained in each post – which leads us to emphasize the significance of social media in disseminating accurate information during a pandemic like the one we went through.
Description
Keywords
COVID-19 Comunicação governamental Redes sociais Portugal Direção-Geral da Saúde Comunicação de risco Comunicação de crise Controvérsia Facebook Pandemia Government communication Social media Controversy Pandemic Crisis communication Directorate-General of Health of Portugal Risk communication