Unmuting leadership: the impact of Zelensky's social media strategy at the inset of the Ukrainian War

Since the start of the war in Ukraine in February 2022, President Zelensky has used his social networks to request international support. This research analyzes the audiovisual discourse of the hegemonic networks during the first 40 days of the humanitarian war crisis in the context of risk communication. The contribution of this research relates to the unveiling of a new era where social media platforms are no longer the underdog of traditional media. This paper analyzes the visual content of President Zelensky's most followed social media profile, Instagram. This paper builds on previous work examining the political leaders of the most affected European countries during the first days of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and how they enhanced the use of their social media profiles in order to communicate about the crisis. In contrast to the use of social media during the COVID-19 pandemic, the audiovisual narrative created by the president of Ukraine optimized the social network's resources and achieved an impactful and authentic approach to leadership during the first 40 days of crisis. © 2023 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Politics, public health, and disinformation: Instagram posts by European far-right parties about COVID-19 vaccines

Introduction: This research has analyzed the visual discourse on Instagram of the European far-right parties in Italy, Germany, France, Spain, Belgium, Austria and Poland on the COVID-19 vaccines carried out during 2021. The main objective has been focused on in discovering the position of these parties regarding the vaccination process against the coronavirus and the use of biased strategies or frames linked to misinformation. Methodology: (N=1050) Instagram posts have been analyzed using visual content analysis. The results show that the European far-right parties studied have not used their Instagram accounts to spread health strategies to alleviate the effects of COVID-19. Results: The contents disseminated have turned out to be individualistic and consistent with the ideals of each party. Except for specific exceptions, in general all the parties have shown a neutral position without being very explicit in their positions. Discussion: What these findings reveal is an inclination not to make decisive speeches that could make them lose voters, despite maintaining a critical position that pretends to be an alternative to the official one. Conclusions: Their main speeches allude to the lack of individual freedom, the voluntariness in the administration of the dose, the rejection of vaccination of children and the denial of the COVID passport. © 2023, University of La Laguna. All rights reserved.

Syndemia or Pandemic. Treatment of Minority Diseases on Spanish Public Television During the COVID-19 Crisis

Minority diseases (MS) affect less than 5 cases per 10 000 inhabitants. Generally, their definitive diagnosis takes years to obtain and they show an unfavorable prognosis. The information published on these diseases is essential for their social visibility and for affected people to obtain more resources for basic and clinical research, especially during the COVID-19 crisis. This article has examined the audiovisual information of the Spanish public television TVE from January 1, 2019 to May 9, 2021 on these diseases. Under the framing paradigm, 51 units of analysis have been analyzed. The results show that during the COVID-19 crisis, information on minority diseases has had less echo on Spanish public television and scientific issues have prevailed over those of social denunciation and life stories.