Rafael Carrasco-Polaino, Complutense University of Madrid (Spain)
Keywords
Network analysis, quantitative analysis, misinformation, virtual communities, social media, critical thinking
Abstract
Twitter has transformed into one of the main platforms for citizen engagement today. However, even though previous studies have focused on opinions about vaccines in general or about specific vaccines, opinions towards COVID-19 vaccines on Twitter have not been researched to date. The objective of this research is, by using social network analysis and language processing tools, to examine the degree to which the opinions and interactions present on Twitter are favorable or unfavorable towards the main COVID-19 vaccines. In addition, the relevance of each of the vaccines is studied, as well as their level of controversy. Likewise, the present study investigates, for the first time, the conversation from different perspectives including the content and also the participants, by analyzing in detail the verified accounts and using tools for the detection of bots. In global terms, the results from verified accounts show a moderate favorability towards the COVID-19 vaccines, the most accepted being those of Oxford-AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Moderna, and Sputnik V. On the other hand, the vaccine that attracts the most attention is the Russian Sputnik V, which is also the most controversial, behind those developed in China. Finally, verified users are shown to be relevant agents in the conversation due to their greater capacity for dissemination and reach, while the presence of bots is practically non-existent.
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Fundref
Technical information
Received: 28-02-2021
Revised: 12-03-2021
Accepted: 27-04-2021
OnlineFirst: 15-06-2021
Publication date: 01-10-2021
Article revision time: 12 days | Average time revision issue 69: 30 days
Article acceptance time: 58 days | Average time of acceptance issue 69: 69 days
Preprint editing time: 170 days | Average editing time preprint issue 69: 181 days
Article editing time: 215 days | Average editing time issue 69: 226 days
Metrics
Metrics of this article
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Abstract readings: 32783
PDF downloads: 5244
Full metrics of Comunicar 69
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Abstract readings: 294552
PDF downloads: 35989
Cited by
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How to cite
Carrasco-Polaino, R., Martín-Cárdaba, M., & Villar-Cirujano, E. (2021). Citizen participation in Twitter: Anti-vaccine controversies in times of COVID-19. [Participación ciudadana en Twitter: Polémicas anti-vacunas en tiempos de COVID-19]. Comunicar, 69, 21-31. https://doi.org/10.3916/C69-2021-02