Use of Facebook as a Social Media Platform for Public Relation Tool by Indian Political Parties During Covid-19: A Content Analysis

Abstract

With the beginning of 2020, the world has completely changed in terms of socialization, interaction, and the way we engage with others due to the pandemic of COVID-19. Coronavirus has affected nations worldwide and forced the government to take drastic steps like quarantine, lockdown, social distancing, and many others. It has successfully created abnormal pressure on public health systems and crisis communication. Social media is the only medium for the segregation of information and communication for various target groups. As per the Global Web Index survey, there has been a rise in the use of social media by 10.5%. In the survey, 46% of women and 41% of men agreed that they spent more time on social media during the pandemic. This study analyses the content of social media messages related to the present COVID-19 pandemic. In this study, the researcher will examine how various political parties have used social media (Facebook) as a PR tool and managed to impact people’s minds during the crisis positively. Updates of government activities, policies, decisions, especially helpline numbers, etc., and dissemination of the latest information from the health department are some of the messages that fall into the category of informing and awakening the citizens. A person’s opinion may be influenced by what he/she sees and hears, i.e., from the information fed to him or her. Social Media is a source of mass communication and acts as an effective tool in changing public opinion and perception of people. Thus, it has become a powerful tool used by politicians and political parties for indirect communication and political mobilization. It is used to persuade and influence the voters to support a particular political party.