The impact of government use of social media and social media contradictions on trust in government and citizens' attitudes in times of crisis

This study explores three issues with reference to times of crisis: the impact of government use of social media, and of social media contradictions, on trust in government, and on citizens' attitudes toward government use of social media. The crisis that provided the context of this study was the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, the study explored the impact of trust in government and social media contradictions on citizens' attitudes toward pandemic prevention measures and vaccination. Data were collected from 379 respondents who were Facebook users in Jordan. PLS-SEM was utilised to validate the research model and analyse data. The results reveal a positive impact on trust in government of a number of dimensions of government use of social media, including transparency, participation, and collaboration. They also confirm that social media contradictions negatively impact trust in government and citizens' attitudes towards vaccination.

Using Pandemic Data to Examine the Government's Pandemic Prevention Measures and Its Support Policies for Vulnerable Groups.

The outbreak of COVID-19 and the uncertainty it brings have created enormous pressure on governments to control the global pandemic and restore economic growth. It is an inevitable choice for governments of various countries to seek to control the pandemic and to provide support such as subsidies to people who lose their jobs or cannot work. However, governments should evaluate their pandemic policies to determine their effectiveness. To maintain social stability and help vulnerable groups, governments also must determine when subsidies are needed and when these support policies should be withdrawn. This research demonstrates that the administration of vaccines and the wearing of masks have a relatively limited impact on preventing the spread of the COVID-19 virus. By contrast, strict school closure policies combined with personal movement restrictions are more helpful in mitigating the spread of the virus. Compared with vaccine policies and wearing masks, controlling internal movement is the most effective way to manage the pandemic in schools. Additionally, economic support such as subsidies for the unemployed and underemployed is not only conducive to prevention of the virus' spread but also to economic recovery and social stability. When the pandemic is brought under control, economic support for vulnerable groups can be gradually reduced or even withdrawn.