Abstracts
Abstract
This study aims to investigate the use of Twitter by Saudi government agencies as an information dissemination source to communicate COVID-19-related information. A total of 8,718 tweets from 33 government agencies were collected during a nine-month period from 1 January to 30 September 2020. The results show that Twitter played a dominant role in the crisis communication process. In addition, providing instructions and adjusting information, as well as management reputation, was a basic strategy to respond to the COVID-19 crisis. Furthermore, communication in terms of topics, actors, style, tones and quantity has changed during different phases of the crisis. The study argues that a centralized and highly organized government structure is particularly important in driving an information and communication strategy to tackle the pandemic, and it helps deliver messages with a common identity that promotes extensive public and government interaction.
Keywords:
- social media,
- Twitter,
- crisis information communication,
- information provision,
- Saudi Arabia,
- COVID-19 pandemic
Résumé
Cette étude vise à examiner l'utilisation de Twitter par les agences gouvernementales saoudiennes comme source de diffusion d'information pour communiquer des données liées à la COVID-19. Un total de 8 718 tweets provenant de 33 agences gouvernementales ont été recueillis sur une période de neuf mois, du 1er janvier au 30 septembre 2020. Les résultats montrent que Twitter a joué un rôle dominant dans le processus de communication en situation de crise. De plus, la diffusion de consignes, l'ajustement de l'information et la gestion de la réputation ont constitué une stratégie fondamentale pour répondre à la crise liée à la COVID-19. Par ailleurs, la communication en termes de sujets, d'acteurs, de style, de ton et de quantité a évolué au cours des différentes phases de la crise. L'étude soutient qu'une structure gouvernementale centralisée et hautement organisée est particulièrement importante pour piloter une stratégie d'information et de communication afin de faire face à la pandémie, et qu'elle contribue à véhiculer des messages porteurs d'une identité commune favorisant une interaction étendue entre le public et le gouvernement.
Mots-clés :
- Twitter,
- média sociaux,
- crise,
- sources d'information,
- pandémie de la COVID-19
Appendices
Bibliography
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