Combating Misinformation with Internet Culture – The Case of Brazilian Health Organizations during the COVID-19 Vaccination Campaign

Resumo (EN)

Purpose– This study investigates the communication behavior of public health organizations on Twitter
during the COVID-19vaccination campaign in Brazil. It contributes to the understanding of the organizational
framing of health communication by showcasing several instances of framing devices that borrow from
(Brazilian) internet culture. The investigation of this case extends the knowledge by providing a rich
description of the organizational framing of health communication to combat misinformation in a politically
charged environment.
Design/methodology/approach– Theauthors collected a Twitter dataset of 77,527 tweets and analyzed a
purposeful subsample of 536 tweets that contained information provided by Brazilian public health
organizations about COVID-19 vaccination campaigns. The data analysis was carried out quantitatively and
qualitatively by combining social media analytics techniques and frame analysis.
Findings– Theanalysis showed that Brazilian health organizations used several framing devices that have
been identified by previous literature such as hashtags, links, emojis or images. However, the analysis also
unearthedhithertounknownvisualframingdevicesformisinformationpreventionanddebunkingthatborrow
from internet culture such as “infographics,”“pop culture references” and “internet-native symbolism.”