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Strategies of Spanish Political Parties in the Face of the COVID-19 Vaccine. Polarization, Disinformation and Impact on the Local Population

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Communication and Applied Technologies (ICOMTA 2023)

Part of the book series: Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies ((SIST,volume 375))

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Abstract

In a scenario marked by the coronavirus pandemic, communication has been a challenge for institutions, parties and political leaders. Both scientific and political circles have relied on vaccination against this disease as the only chance for the country's recovery, but a percentage of the population is wary of the vaccine and is open to misinformation and denialism. With the aim of determining the role played by political parties in the debate on vaccination against COVID-19 and the public's perception of institutional management, this paper analyzes the messages posted on Twitter by the four forces with the greatest parliamentary representation in Spain (PSOE, PP, Vox and Podemos). Based on a triangulated content analysis methodology on Twitter, covering the period from the inoculation of the first dose to the date on which the threshold of 70% of the vaccinated population is reached, we obtained results (n = 366) that reflect the priority of polarization over awareness in vaccination campaigns, turning it into another instrument of electoral strategy, influence and political leadership.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Universidad de Sevilla, Avda. Américo Vespucio, s/n, 41092, Sevilla, Spain

    Ricardo Domínguez-García & Sandra Méndez-Muros

  2. Universidad de Málaga. León Tolstoi, 29010, Málaga, Spain

    Mónica Hinojosa-Becerra

Authors
  1. Ricardo Domínguez-García
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  2. Sandra Méndez-Muros
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  3. Mónica Hinojosa-Becerra
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ricardo Domínguez-García .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Málaga, Spain

    Daniel Barredo Ibáñez

  2. Rúa da Maestranza, A Coruña, Spain

    Laura M. Castro

  3. Complejo Cultural Universitario, Puebla, Mexico

    Araceli Espinosa

  4. Circunvalación ao Campus Universitario, Vigo, Spain

    Iván Puentes-Rivera

  5. Campus Vida, Avenida do Doutor Ángel Jorge Echeverri, Santiago de Compostela, Spain

    Paulo Carlos López-López

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© 2024 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

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Domínguez-García, R., Méndez-Muros, S., Hinojosa-Becerra, M. (2024). Strategies of Spanish Political Parties in the Face of the COVID-19 Vaccine. Polarization, Disinformation and Impact on the Local Population. In: Ibáñez, D.B., Castro, L.M., Espinosa, A., Puentes-Rivera, I., López-López, P.C. (eds) Communication and Applied Technologies. ICOMTA 2023. Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies, vol 375. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-7210-4_17

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