The effectiveness of social media in raising awareness of Movement Control Order (MCO) during the COVID-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT

The media plays many important roles in providing information to the public through various platforms, both in traditional and digital forms. In March 2020, the Malaysian government announced the Movement Control Order (MCO) due to the outbreak of COVID-19. COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus which continues to affect millions of people across the world. Social media platforms have been working diligently in making sure that communities are updated with news regarding personal safety and information on the MCO. The study aims to identify the effectiveness of social media in promoting awareness of the MCO. The study involved 440 respondents from different backgrounds across Malaysia and the data collected was analysed using Statistical Package of Social Science (SPSS) Version 23. Findings indicate that social media has a significant impact in promoting MCO awareness with 34.9% of the variance of MCO awareness explained by the proposed model.