Governments use their personal social media platforms, specifically Twitter, to promote their messaging and the perception of the COVID-19 pandemic and highlight key strategies and policy priorities. Data presented on social media outlets differ from the data presented by the WHO and the CDC. This critical metadata analysis uses visual rhetoric because “rhetoric has come to be used not just as means of producing effective communications, but also as a way of understanding communication” (Selzer, p. 280). Further, the argument has been made that the governmental systems and leaders utilized Twitter to promote their personal views on and experiences with COVID-19, in addition to implementation strategies on how to deal with the pandemic, how to safely engage with others, and the rules for future public engagement.
Critical Metadata Analysis and Data Visualization of United States, United Kingdom, and Ireland World Leaders Twitter Responses to COVID-19