The DOI matches its Crossref record; 20 of the 20 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
World leaders' usage of twitter in response to the COVID-19 pandemic: A content analysis
Open accessAbstract
BACKGROUND: It is crucial that world leaders mount effective public health measures in response to COVID-19. Twitter may represent a powerful tool to help achieve this. Here, we explore the role of Twitter as used by Group of Seven (G7) world leaders in response to COVID-19. METHODS: This was a qualitative study with content analysis. Inclusion criteria were as follows: viral tweets from G7 world leaders, attracting a minimum of 500 'likes'; keywords 'COVID-19' or 'coronavirus'; search dates 17 November 2019 to 17 March 2020. We performed content analysis to categorize tweets into appropriate themes and analyzed associated Twitter data. RESULTS: Eight out of nine (88.9%) G7 world leaders had verified and active Twitter accounts, with a total following of 85.7 million users. Out of a total 203 viral tweets, 166 (82.8%) were classified as 'Informative', of which 48 (28.6%) had weblinks to government-based sources, while 19 (9.4%) were 'Morale-boosting' and 14 (6.9%) were 'Political'. Numbers of followers and viral tweets were not strictly related. CONCLUSIONS: Twitter may represent a powerful tool for world leaders to rapidly communicate public health information with citizens. We would urge general caution when using Twitter for health information, with a preference for tweets containing official government-based information sources.
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Metadata
- Authors
- Rufai, S. R., & Bunce, C.
- Affiliations
- University of Leicester (GB)
- King's College London (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Rufai, Sohaib R
- Venue
- Journal of Public Health
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2020-04-20
- Volume
- 42
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 510-516
- ISSN
- 0943-1853 (ISSN-L)
- 1741-3842
- 1741-3850
- PMC
- PMC7188178
- OpenAlex
- W3016994297
- Cited by
- 308
- References
- 20
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 16 · 2024: 30 · 2023: 52 · 2022: 76 · 2021: 96 · 2020: 31
- FWCI
- 76.49
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Licence
- academic.oup.com/journals/pages/open_access/funder_policies/chorus/standard_publication_model (vor)
- Locations
- Journal of Public Health (publishedVersion, public-domain)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute for Health Research
- Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust
- King’s College London
- Department of Health and Social Care
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Communication › Communication and COVID-19 Impact
- Social Sciences › Health › Social Media in Health Education
- Social Sciences › Communication › Public Relations and Crisis Communication
- Keywords
- Twitter, COVID-19 pandemic, social media communication, public health communication, political communication
- MeSH terms
- Betacoronavirus, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Adult, Communication, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Pneumonia, Viral, Public Health, Global Health, Practice Guidelines as Topic, Coronavirus Infections, Information Dissemination, Qualitative Research, Pandemics, Social Media
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