Navigating COVID-19: How the Portuguese Health Authority Managed Social Media

Introduction

During the Covid-19 pandemic, governments and health authorities worldwide confronted the singular challenge of effectively conveying the health risks associated with a lethal menace. This juncture undeniably marked a pivotal moment in modern human history, with its repercussions continuing to reverberate. Social media platforms assumed a pivotal role in the dissemination of information to the public, encompassing guidance on protective measures against the virus and utilitarian data pertaining to the national pandemic status. Furthermore, they wielded substantial influence over citizens' risk perceptions and satisfaction levels, all the while facilitating the swift exchange of information between experts and the general people.

This chapter delves into the initiatives undertaken by Portugal's Directorate-General for Health (DGS) in disseminating health-related information, especially on prominent social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, amidst the peak of the Covid-19 crisis. The extraction of data was automated through the utilization of the Application Programming Interface (API) provided by these social media platforms, with support from CrowdTangle. These messages were subsequently archived in CSV files and subjected to comprehensive analysis via the Voyant Tools software.

The sample has 1,841 public posts, covering a ten-month period from March 2, 2020, to December 27, 2020. These messages are distributed across two social media platforms: Instagram (n = 642) and Facebook (n = 1,199). This specific timeframe coincided with the most tumultuous phase of the pandemic within the country, encapsulating both the onset of the first reported Covid-19 case and the launch of the national vaccination program. By adopting this method approach, this research was able to yield valuable insights into the communication strategies employed by the DGS and the characteristics of their social media audiences.