Exploring the Political Debate over the COVID-19 Vaccination on Twitter: Emotions and Polarization in the Spanish Public Sphere

Abstract

In a scenario marked by COVID-19, communication has posed a real challenge for institutions. Since the first case of COVID-19, Spain has faced the enormous challenge of an unprecedented health, economic, and social crisis. The public sphere has put its trust in vaccination as the only chance for the country’s recovery. To determine the role played by political leaders in the debate on vaccination and citizens’ perception of crisis management, this article analyzes the messages posted on Twitter by the four leaders of the parties with the most representation in parliament: Pedro Sánchez (PSOE), Pablo Casado (PP), Santiago Abascal (Vox), and Yolanda Díaz (Podemos). Using a methodology for comparative content analysis on Twitter, a sample was established that began at the start of the vaccination process and inoculation with the first dose, and covered the entire year that followed. The research results, which contrasted with those collected in demographic surveys, reflected an increase in polarization and electoral use of the vaccine, which took precedence over the awareness-raising discourse typical of public campaigns.

Keywords

• COVID-19
• vaccination
• public communication
• polarization
• Twitter