Unpacking government social media messaging strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic in China

Research question

How did official social media messaging differ across administrative levels during COVID-19? Using situational crisis communication theory, the study examines the balance between helping people respond to a crisis and communicating messages that support institutional standing.

Evidence and approach

The analysis covers four Weibo accounts: People's Daily and Xinhua Viewpoint at the central level, and Hubei Publishing and Wuhan Publishing at the local level. Of 12,411 posts collected between 23 January and 8 April 2020, 8,374 Wuhan-related posts were analyzed using latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) and interpreted in terms of crisis communication strategies.

What the study finds

• Four strategies organize the messaging. The analysis distinguishes instructing information, adjusting information, advocacy, and bolstering, rather than treating crisis posts as one category of information provision.
• Local accounts emphasize immediate response needs. Hubei and Wuhan accounts give greater attention to instructions and information that help people adjust to the crisis.
• Central accounts emphasize advocacy and bolstering. People's Daily and Xinhua Viewpoint place greater emphasis on these strategies. The study interprets the contrast in relation to coordination responsibilities and concerns with reputation, legitimation, and blame avoidance.

Why it matters

The findings bring administrative context into the study of crisis communication. A communication strategy may reflect an actor's institutional position and responsibilities, not only the type or severity of the crisis. They also show why analyses of official social media need to distinguish government accounts from party-state media accounts.

The study identifies messaging patterns in four accounts. It does not establish how those messages changed public trust or support, or whether they successfully reduced blame.